Janel Grant’s motion for early discovery in Vince McMahon lawsuit denied
Friday night saw the latest development in the Janel Grant vs. Vince McMahon lawsuit and one that didn’t go the plaintiff’s way, for now anyway.
Grant was seeking early discovery to support her case for avoiding arbitration in the lawsuit, first filed in January 2024, against McMahon and WWE in which she is claiming McMahon sexually assaulted her and trafficked her. Due to the NDA Grant signed with McMahon that contained a private arbitration clause, his side is claiming that should be followed.
First reported by Brandon Thurston for Post Wrestling, judge Sarah Russell ruled that Grant “had not established ‘good cause’ for obtaining records and depositions before the defendants file their anticipated motions to compel arbitration.” However, Russell stated in her judgment that she could reconsider “limited, reciprocal discovery” once the aforementioned arbitration motions are submitted by McMahon.
Part of the reason for Russell’s ruling was that the court “cannot evaluate from the current record whether discovery from Defendants is required to resolve the applicability of defenses Plaintiff may raise to arbitration. Thus, Plaintiff has not met her burden to show good cause for taking discovery before responding to Defendants’ Motions to Compel Arbitration. Plaintiff may renew her Motion for Leave to Take Discovery in conjunction with filing her response in opposition to Defendants’ Motions to Compel.”
It was the first movement on the case in seven months. To that end, Russell ordered both Grant and McMahon’s legal teams to meet in order to decide on McMahon’s motions to compel arbitration, dates for arguments on that issue, and whether both sides want to be referred to a magistrate judge for a possible settlement.
To this point, neither side has commented on the ruling.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.