Lawsuits Mounting Up Against Vince McMahon After WWE Return
A third lawsuit has been launched against Vince McMahon following his shock return to WWE as the company’s Executive Chairman.
Vince McMahon stunned the wrestling world in July 2022 when he announced his retirement as WWE Chairman and CEO amid an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and ‘hush money’ payments made to female former employees of the company.
In the first week of 2023, McMahon launched an audacious attempt to get back power, using his position as majority shareholder to install himself and former WWE co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson on the Board of Directors, removing three current members at the same time. Two other members of the Board then quit before Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation as WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO.
WWE shareholder Scott Fellows has already launched a class action lawsuit in the wake of Vince McMahon’s return to power claiming that the Executive Chairman is trying to “hamstring the Board and prevent it from undertaking significant time-sensitive decisions respecting some of the most important properties of the Company” and that McMahon “has breached his fiduciary duties as a controlling stockholder.”
A second lawsuit has also been launched by Detroit’s Police and Fire Retirement System. Sportico has noted that the suit filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery has a request in it to be recognised as a class action and invites other WWE shareholders to join it. The potential suit could slow down the potential sale of the company.
Now Bloomberg has reported that a third lawsuit related to the sexual misconduct allegations has been launched against McMahon. Carole Casale and Chrystal Lavalle are named as having brought this suit but no other public information has been made available. It is noted that Casale and Lavalle are seeking to keep their claim as separate from the ones brought by the retirement fund and Fellows.
Vince McMahon has paid a sum believed to be in the millions of dollars to settle a claim of alleged rape brought against him by former WWE referee Rita Chatterton.