Janel Grant Given Deadline To Argue For Amendment To Vince McMahon Lawsuit

A judge has given Janel Grant a deadline as she looks to amend her lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE.

As reported by Brandon Thurston for POST Wrestling, a judge has given Janel Grant until January 31st to present an argument as to why she should be allowed to amend her lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis.

The case, which was originally filed in January 2024, was recently assigned to federal judge Sarah F. Russell who denied a request from Grant’s team for a status conference. The judge also confirmed that the stay on the case which had been in effect between June and December had been lifted. Lawyers for Grant had previously argued that it hadn’t, while the defendants claimed it had.

However, Russell denied motions from the defendants to move the case to private arbitration. These will be allowed to be resubmitted after the court decides whether Grant can amend her lawsuit.

While there’s no word on exactly what changes Grant wishes to make, her team claimed McMahon’s recent settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission underscores the need for her need to do so.

In the lawsuit, Grant claims McMahon and John Laurinaitis sexually assaulted her, and she was a victim of sex trafficking. She alleges that WWE is liable as high-ranking executives were aware of a relationship between McMahon and herself. The defendants continue to deny any wrongdoing.

Vince McMahon Took SEC Hit

The SEC settlement mentioned by Grant’s team saw McMahon forced to part with more than $1 million in relation to undisclosed payments.

On January 10th it was revealed that Vince McMahon had been charged with “violating federal securities laws” by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The charge related to McMahon’s failure to disclose settlement agreements worth $10.5 million to WWE’s board of directors.

In response, McMahon agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty while reimbursing WWE a further $1.33 million after “consenting to an order finding that he violated the Securities Exchange Act.”

One of McMahon’s undisclosed payments was made to an unnamed former WWE employee and totalled $3 million. In her lawsuit, Grant claimed that McMahon agreed to pay her $3 as part of a non-disclosure agreement, but ended up only paying $1 million.