Vince McMahon, WWE File Motion Seeking Arbitration In Janel Grant Lawsuit

An update has surfaced regarding the ongoing legal issues surrounding the Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, WWE and Janel Grant situation.

Attorneys representing McMahon and WWE have filed motions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut seeking to move Janel Grant’s lawsuit to arbitration.

Grant, a former WWE employee, has accused McMahon, WWE, and Laurinaitis of sexual assault and sex trafficking in her lawsuit. The claims include allegations that she signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in exchange for a $3 million settlement, but McMahon ceased payments after $1 million.

McMahon’s motion asserts that the agreement between him, WWE, and Grant contains a clause requiring “any dispute arising under or out of” the agreement to be resolved through arbitration. The motion argues that Grant’s decision to file a lawsuit is “in direct violation of her agreement to arbitrate.”

The filing also includes a signed declaration from Vince McMahon, in which he affirms under penalty of perjury that his account of the events is accurate.

Grant’s legal team has until January 13 to respond.

From the filing:

“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.”

“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.”

“As this is a pre-answer motion, Defendant McMahon does not specifically address the legal sufficiency or substantive merits of Plaintiff’s counts asserted against him. For the avoidance of doubt, however, Defendant McMahon vehemently and categorically denies all allegations of Case 3:24-cv-00090-JAM Document 85-1 Filed 12/23/24 Page 8 of 33 3 wrongdoing in the Complaint, including Plaintiff’s outrageous false claims intended for publicity. When the Complaint’s allegations are adjudicated in the proper forum (arbitration), witnesses are called to testify under oath, and all communications between the parties are produced (including those authored by Plaintiff, many of which were intentionally omitted from the Complaint), the allegations and claims will be disproven.2 Meanwhile, for the foregoing reasons and as set forth further below, Defendant McMahon’s Motion to Compel Arbitration should be granted.”