Janel Grant is turning up the heat in her lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon, and John Laurinaitisand now she wants access to their records.
In a bold move, Grants legal team filed documents on Friday asking the court to kick off the discovery phase. Thats where both sides must turn over key documents, emails, and evidence. The goal? To pull back the curtain on WWEs inner workings and dig into years of alleged misconduct tied to the case.
Grants team made it cleartheyre not just after files from Vince and Laurinaitis. They want records from anyone connected to WWE, including subsidiaries and executives past and present. The request for documents may include any subsidiary and/or current or former executive, employee, contractor, agent, and/or similarly situated personnel of WWE, TKO, and/or Endeavor Group Holdings, the filing states.
They also want travel logs and communications related to McMahon, Laurinaitis, and even Brock Lesnarwho was named in the lawsuit as allegedly being offered sexual access to Grant during contract negotiations as part of her sex trafficking claims.
Grants team is asking for documentation on Vince McMahons previous payouts to women and WWEs internal policies on sexual harassment. The idea is to prove this wasnt an isolated situationbut part of a larger pattern.
But the defense isnt playing ball just yet. Lawyers for McMahon, Laurinaitis, and WWE argue its premature to start digging through documents. They say the case should be moved to private arbitration instead of continuing in open court and that jumping into discovery could be a huge waste of time and money. An email from WWEs legal team even argues that local rules in Connecticut federal court allow discovery to be delayed until the judge decides whether the case will proceed in court or be sent to arbitration.
The next move lies with Judge Sarah F. Russell, wholl decide whether to let the updated complaintfiled in Januarystand as the main legal document. Once thats settled, WWEs legal team is expected to file another motion to push the case into arbitration.
Grants spokesperson Kendra Barkoff-Lamy told POST Wrestling, Janel Grants courage continues to be an inspiration to so many. Her filing today seeks to move forward with her pursuit of justice and accountability against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE for the horrific sex trafficking and abuse inflicted upon her.
No comment yet from Vince McMahons sidebut if they respond, well update.
This legal battle is far from over, and if the court allows discovery to begin, it could open up a firestorm of internal secrets from WWEs top brass.
Do you think WWE should be forced to turn over documents and travel records, or should the case go straight to private arbitration? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
