Additional plaintiffs join ring boy lawsuit against WWE, Vince & Linda McMahon

Photo Courtesy: Jessica Hill/AP

The decision to uphold the Child Victims Act in Maryland will allow the ring boy lawsuit to proceed after a temporary pause to await Monday’s ruling.

The Maryland Supreme Court voted 4-3 in favor of preserving the act, which eliminates time limits for victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits.

The Child Victims Act allowed for the five anonymous ex-ring boys to file their lawsuit last October in Baltimore County against Vince and Linda McMahon, and WWE for negligence related to alleged sexual abuse. The former ring boys allege sexual abuse by former ring announcer and ring crew chief Mel Phillips, who died in 2012.

DiCello Levitt, the law firm representing the ex-ring boys announced the continuation of the lawsuit while including new information that additional survivors have joined the suit.

The underaged Ring Boys were groomed, exploited, and sexually abused by Phillips, who targeted children from broken homes. His sexual assaults occurred not only at the wrestling venues, but also in hotel rooms and other locations where Phillips would shuttle the boys in plain sight.

Defendants were aware of the systemic and pervasive abuse but did not prevent or stop it. The FBI previously identified at least 10 Ring Boys abused by Phillips, but there are likely countless others who have suffered in silence for decades.

Since the lawsuit was filed in October, additional survivors have come forward to seek justice and accountability for what happened to them. Monday’s decision allows the case to proceed.

POST Wrestling has inquired regarding the number of additional plaintiffs being added to the case and will update if we can confirm the number of claimants.

An important element of this case is Linda McMahon being named as a defendant as she approaches her confirmation period in front of the U.S. Senate to become Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump.

Last fall, McMahon’s attorney Laura Brevetti called the ring boy lawsuit “baseless” and was “filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations.”

In a press release from DiCello Levitt, plaintiffs’ lawyer Greg Gutzler stated:

The Maryland Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Maryland Child Victims Act, effectively eliminating any statute of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits, is the right one, and we hope other states will follow Maryland’s lead.

Survivors of sexual assault, especially children, often do not come forward for years or even decades after the abuse occurred. This delayed disclosure happens for numerous reasons—shame, fear, or manipulation—and it has too often prevented survivors from ever seeking justice and getting accountability. It also has allowed perpetrators to continue hurting countless innocent people.

My clients’ lives were destroyed by the defendants who allowed and enabled the open, rampant sexual abuse to occur for years. The abuse inflicted on my clients was inexcusable; they were mere children and had the right to expect that WWE executives would take action to protect them from the predators working within the WWE. We will bring light to their truth and fight for accountability and justice.

The lawsuit had been paused in December pending a ruling on the constitutionality of the Child Victims Act.

About John Pollock 6001 Articles
Born on a Friday, John Pollock is a reporter, editor & podcaster at POST Wrestling. He runs and owns POST Wrestling alongside Wai Ting.