According Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling, the legal teams for Vince McMahon and WWE have responded with motions to dismiss the Ring Boys lawsuit.
Both legal teams (for Vince McMahon and WWE), just as Linda McMahon’s attorneys did, argue the case should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in Maryland, where the Child Victims Act of 2023 has recently removed any statutes of limitations on civil lawsuits related to child sex abuse or negligence leading to child sex abuse.
In separate filings, the same as Linda McMahon’s attorneys, the legal teams for WWE and Vince McMahon argue they do not have meaningful ties to Maryland, thus pushing back against allegations from the plaintiffs, who are five John Does alleging they were sexually abused in the 1980s by former ring announcer Mel Phillips, including on occasions in the state of Maryland when the WWF held events in the state. The boys were hired to help set up the rings and run other errands as needed.
POST Wrestling also notes Phillips was fired by the WWF in 1988 due to his conduct, but then rehired soon after with the instruction that he “steer clear” from underage boys.
Attorneys for WWE stated the following in their filling, “Plaintiffs appear to have selected Maryland as their forum of choice in an attempt to benefit from the recently enacted Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023…But the Plaintiffs’ claims do not belong there.”
Vince McMahon’s attorneys noted in their filing, “Five unnamed adults—none of whom are from Maryland—have come to this jurisdiction pleading decades-old allegations from the 1980s in an attempt to capitalize on the recent Maryland Child Victims Act [MCVA] of 2023.”
The report also notes McMahon’s attorneys also argue that while the MCVA may have eliminated time limits for filing lawsuits like these, it doesn’t forego the requirement for the court to have proper jurisdiction over the defendants and deny he had any knowledge or involvement in the abuse and call the complaint a compilation of unreliable sources.
“The Complaint attempts to manufacture such knowledge by spouting a broad catalog of negative press, unfounded opinions, speculation, and multi-level hearsay from a hodgepodge of characters (many of whom are deceased).”
As it pertains to the legal team for WWE and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, they challenge whether they can even be held liable. Their filing argues the lawsuit improperly treats them as interchangeable with the “now nonexistent entity,” the company’s former name of the World Wrestling Federation, which after losing a lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund, was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002. Furthermore, it is being also argued TKO was created in 2023, upon WWE’s merger with UFC. WWE also states that the alleged hiring of the plaintiffs by Phillips does not tie the company to the former ring boys.
POST Wrestling further notes the attorneys for WWE and TKO argue the lawsuit does not establish why WWE or TKO should be held liable for the conduct of WWF personnel in the 1980s.
As it pertains to jurisdiction, POST Wrestling adds that the attorneys for WWE and TKO argue the company is not incorporated in Maryland, that they have operations there and only two of the five plaintiffs have alleged they were abused in Maryland. “This is especially true as to John Does, 1, 2, and 3—none of whom plausibly allege any connection between their claims and any WWF (or WWE) business dealings in Maryland,” the motion asserts.
Furthermore, Vince McMahon also contends that the federal court in Maryland has no jurisdiction over him. His attorneys also note (same with Linda McMahon’s attorneys), he is a long-time he’s a longtime resident of Connecticut and that he took no actions in Maryland related to the plaintiffs’ claims.
POST Wrestling states that by focusing on jurisdiction first instead of contesting the abuse allegations themselves, the defendants may be able to end the case without going through discovery. If the court approved of the defendants’ motions to dismiss, it may be difficult to impossible for the plaintiffs to litigate the case elsewhere. Though they allege they were abused by Phillips in multiple states, most other U.S. states have statutes of limitations that may preclude their claims.
The defendants requested a hearing on their motions, which Judge James K. Bredar has not scheduled yet.
POST Wrestling concluded their report by indicating that the attorneys for the five plaintiffs have not responded in court yet and that a request for comment from POST Wrestling to the law firm representing them was not immediately returned.