A report from PWInsider on Tuesday notes Attorneys for Vince McMahon and WWE have filed motions requesting the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut move Janel Grant’s lawsuit to arbitration.
The report also notes McMahon’s motion claims the agreement he and WWE entered into with Grant included a clause that “any dispute arising under or out of” that agreement to be arbitrated, therefore Grant even filing her lawsuit was “in direct violation of her agreement to arbitrate.”
The motion claims the following:
“The Settlement Agreement was drafted when Plaintiff and Defendant McMahon, who had engaged in a consensual, intimate relationship for approximately three years, sought to memorialize the end of that relationship. In January 2022, Plaintiff and Defendant McMahon, each represented by counsel, negotiated and executed the Settlement Agreement, with Defendant McMahon signing on his own behalf and, in his capacity as Chairman, on behalf of WWE. That agreement, which explicitly sought “to avoid any damage caused by public disclosure of private matters known to Grant and McMahon,” included, among other provisions, terms for Plaintiff’s departure from the company where they both worked (WWE), the payment of $3 million to Plaintiff, mutual releases, and a comprehensive agreement to arbitrate any and all disputes.”
McMahon’s Motion also states he made the initial payment of $1 Million to Grant, but “When Defendant McMahon later learned that Plaintiff, despite her representations and warranties, had breached the Settlement Agreement by wrongfully disclosing both the existence of the Settlement Agreement and their relationship, he exercised his contractual right to withhold further payment otherwise owed under the Settlement Agreement. In response, Plaintiff sought to besmirch him. She intentionally violated the Settlement Agreement’s arbitration provision and filed a false and defamatory public lawsuit.”
The 52-page filing also states McMahon and Grant were in a consensual relationship for “just under three years” and initially offered Grant $1 million. The motion claims that Grant felt the amount offered was not enough given ,the loss of her earning potential and the fact that she would be exiting her position as a Director in WWE in under a year and hiring her own counsel. PWInsider goes on to note that a declaration from McMahon that is included in the Motion states that McMahon’s attorney at the time – Jerry McDevitt, was not involved in the situation until Grant asked for a larger amount. The final agreed upon amount would be for $3 million, to be paid in an installment basis through February 2026. McMahon is arguing that in signing the agreement, Grant had agreed she would not bring any additional claims against McMahon (nor he against her) and that this would also release Grant from being able to bring any future complaints against WWE.
This past January, Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince, McMahon, WWE and now former WWE Executive John Laurinaitus for sexual abuse, sex trafficking and harassment. Her lawsuit claims “that McMahon lured her with promises of career advancement, and then he allegedly exploited her and trafficked her to other men inside the company.” Grant signed a nondisclosure agreement back in 2022 with McMahon, agreeing to the total payment of $3 million not to publicly disparage him or to discuss their relationship. She alleges in the suit McMahon stopped making payments after just $1 million, which was only one third of the agreement. Her lawsuit is seeking to void the NDA and additional financial damages.
The lawsuit by Grant lawsuit forced McMahon to exit from his Board of Directors role within WWE’s parent company -TKO Group Holdings and sell large amount of his company stock.
The full story and more details are available at PWInsider, which was the source for this report.