Vince McMahon Files To Compel Arbitration In Janel Grant Lawsuit

Content warning; discussion of alleged sexual assault

With former WWE employee Janel Grant having launched a lawsuit earlier this year alleging sexual, physical, and emotional assault by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, McMahon's legal team has now moved to contend a binding arbitration clause exists in the NDA Ms. Grant signed.

Tuesday saw McMahon file a motion in the District of Connecticut to "compel arbitration" of this lawsuit, which means Vince McMahon is seeking that the court recognise the arbitration clause and opt to send this matter to a private hearing with an independent arbitrator rather than seek litigation.

As the Wrestling Observer notes via a Trellis Law definition, this type of motion is made when a party "believes that the mere mention of the evidence during trial would be highly prejudicial and could not be remedied by an instruction to disregard".

From McMahon's side, yesterday's filing states:

"By publicly filing her salacious, false and defamatory Complaint, Plaintiff has brazenly and intentionally violated a binding contract to arbitrate."

The filing also reiterates how Vince McMahon and Janel Grant were in a consensual relationship, citing the "love letter" sent by email from Ms. Grant to McMahon in late 2021. Ms. Grant's legal team has previously claimed that their client was coerced into writing this love letter.

Other paragraphs of this filing dispute Ms. Grant's claims that she was in financial difficulty prior to meeting McMahon, nor that she was dealing with profound grief following the death of her parents, or that she served as a caregiver for her parents. The filing also notes that Ms. Grant was living with her fiancé at the time of her relationship with McMahon, with both Grant and McMahon aware that the other was involved in other romantic relationships.

Additionally, this latest filing states how Janel Grant and Vince McMahon both agreed to end their relationship in 2022 and an NDA was drawn up that said any disputes would be resolved through arbitration. The filing claims Ms. Grant violated this "enforceable contract" with her public filing.

Janel Grant's lawyer, Ann Callis, has responded to McMahon's filing, releasing a statement to Wrestlenomics refuting the above claims made by McMahon and his legal team.

From Callis:

"Vince McMahon has never known a storyline that he doesn’t twist to fit his own shameful narrative. Her father was in in-home hospice during his final days where Janel continued to care for him around the clock. Prior to his death, she had been caring for her blind, wheelchair-bound mother. Using the grief of someone who lost both of her parents is an all new level of disgusting.

Her ex-boyfriend allowed her to stay in the apartment as she rebuilt her life and resume post-taking care of her parents. She had no job and no other financial support to lean back on."

Expect more on this situation as it continues to develop.