Vince McMahon’s Lawyer Reacts to Janel Grant’s Motion to Strike

In June 2022, Vince McMahon found himself embroiled in controversy due to allegations of misconduct following the revelation that he had secretly paid $3 million in hush money. This scandal escalated when McMahon was recently subjected to a sex trafficking lawsuit, which led him to file a motion to compel arbitration. This legal strategy aimed to resolve the matter outside of court, typically through a more private and controlled process. As the legal battle continues to evolve, Janel Grant, the plaintiff in the sex trafficking lawsuit, has taken action to challenge McMahon’s motion to compel arbitration.

On January 25th, Janel Grant, a former WWE staff member, filed lawsuit against WWE, John Laurinaitis, and Vince McMahon, alleging sexual assault, emotional abuse, and sex trafficking incidents dating back to March 2019. This lawsuit has brought serious allegations against these prominent figures, casting a shadow over McMahon’s reputation and raising concerns about the workplace environment within WWE.

As previously reported, Vince McMahon has filed a motion to compel arbitration in the Grant v. WWE et al. case, where he denied Grant’s claims of sexual abuse and coercion, among other things, which got a response from Grant’s lawyer.

As per Brandon Thurston, Janel Grant has filed a motion to strike in response to Vince McMahon’s recent filings in the Grant v. WWE et al case. In her motion, Grant’s legal team criticizes McMahon for misusing his motion to compel arbitration. According to Grant’s filing, instead of focusing on the legal question of whether the dispute should be arbitrated, McMahon used the “Preliminary Statement” section to launch personal attacks on Grant, attempting to undermine her moral character and calling for its removal.

”Plaintiff Janel Grant (“Janel”) respectfully requests that the Court exercise its inherent power to strike the inflammatory lies made in Defendant Vincent K. McMahon’s (“McMahon”) memorandum of law in support of his motion to compel arbitration, filed April 23, 2024, ECF No. 30-1 (the “Motion”). Instead of using his Motion in the appropriate manner—to raise legal arguments concerning whether this dispute must be submitted to arbitration—McMahon instead uses the Motion’s “Preliminary Statement” as a platform to launch vicious falsehoods attacking Janel’s moral character in a transparent attempt to harass and intimidate her into submission.

McMahon’s easily refuted lies have no place in this case. It was not necessary, reasonable, or responsible to use a public filing to impugn Janel’s moral character. Indeed, McMahon’s desperate attempt to distract from the legal substance of the Motion highlight its weakness and the weakness of his overall case.

This Court has inherent power to strike a parties’ filings. Accordingly, Janel respectfully requests that the Court exercise that power to strike the Motion’s “Preliminary Statement” in its entirety and admonish McMahon and his counsel that such statements have no place in civil litigation.”

Jessica Rosenberg, Vince McMahon’s attorney, issued a new statement to Wrestlenomics in response to the motion to strike filed by Janel Grant’s team. Addressing the claim that McMahon’s motion contained personal attacks against Grant, Rosenberg stated:

“Plaintiff had no right to bring this case in a public court but did so anyway. Now that she chose this public forum to falsely accuse Mr. McMahon, she wants to silence his ability to respond. She can’t have it both ways.”

This statement implies that Rosenberg believes Grant initiated the legal action in a public court without proper grounds and, by doing so, opened herself to a public defense from McMahon. Rosenberg argues that since the case is in a public forum, McMahon has the right to respond to accusations. Only time will tell how the case progresses in the coming months.

Are you shocked by how the case is currently proceeding? Let us know in the comments section below!