Attorneys representing Vince McMahon have filed a new memorandum, opposing Janel Grant’s motion to strike the preliminary statement of the former WWE chairman.
Per Fightful, the court document states:
Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike is meritless and the height of hypocrisy. Having falsely accused Defendant in a public forum, despite an obligation to arbitrate, in an inflammatory 67- page Complaint that completely disregards the mandate of Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff now seeks to strike the Preliminary Statement of the Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant’s Motion to Compel Arbitration (Dkt. No. 30-1) on the purported basis that it is too “inflammatory.” Plaintiff fails to demonstrate, nor could she based on the standard, that this Court should use its “inherent power”—a power that must be exercised with restraint and discretion—to strike a preliminary statement providing context to a motion to compel arbitration. In addition, motions made under Rule 12(f), on which Plaintiff relies, are rarely granted and the Rule is inapplicable here because Defendant’s Preliminary Statement is contained in its Memorandum of Law, which is not a pleading. Even if the Court were to invoke its inherent power and even if Rule 12(f) were somehow applicable, the Motion should be denied as the Preliminary Statement, including the pertinent factual statements within it, provides relevant context to the Motion to Compel Arbitration.
McMahon’s legal team argues that Grant presented text messages that did not include her side, claiming that the relationship between the two was consensual.
Note: The following details from the court document contain explicit language.
The attorneys claim in particular that “Plaintiff chose to violate the Parties’ explicit agreement to ‘preserve the confidential and private nature’ of any dispute that may arise by commencing this lawsuit,” further stating:
Indeed, while Defendant no longer is in possession of the text messages between the Parties as he deleted them when he broke off the relationship, the discovery in this case will show that Plaintiff sent him sexually explicit images of herself and texted him to say, among other things:
o That she was in love with him and he was the love of her life;
o That he was her best friend;
o That she wanted to have sex with him and providing graphic detail;
o That she fantasized about being held down, enjoyed being in pain, and wanted
rough sex;
o That she wanted Defendant to watch her have sex with other people and know about
her sex with others;
o That she wanted Defendant to give her thousands of dollars for clothes, plastic
surgery, and other gifts;
o That she wanted to have a future with Defendant even after signing the Agreement;
and
o That she wanted Defendant to keep living in the same building, so she could continue to see him, even after signing the Agreement.
Grant initially filed the lawsuit against McMahon, WWE, and former executive John Laurinaitis with allegations of sex trafficking, emotional abuse, and sexual assault against the man who was briefly Executive Chairman of TKO Group.