By Brandon Thurston & Jason Ounpraseuth
Attorneys representing Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness Inc. are appealing a Connecticut judge’s order that compelled them to produce billing statements by January 12 that showed Vince McMahon paid for Grant’s medical bills.
The basis of Colker’s appeal has not yet been filed with the Connecticut Appellate Court, but previously, Colker’s side argued that the motion “overreaches the permissible scope of a bill of discovery and seeks to convert this limited, pre-suit mechanism into an open-ended fishing expedition.”
The notice of appeal was filed with the lower Connecticut Superior Court on Tuesday, pushing back on the order from Judge David Bothwell handed down on December 11. The defendants have stated that they’ve produced hundreds of pages of documents and complied in good faith with discovery and court directives.
Requests for comment sent to both Grant’s representatives and Colker’s attorneys were not returned. We’ll update this report if either provides a statement.
Medical records have been turned over, but there remain disputes about billing or payment records, which are marked “paid” but don’t indicate who made the payments. Erica Nolan, an attorney for Grant, stated at a hearing on December 9 that Colker’s counsel has still refused to produce the documents they requested.
The earlier motion filed by Colker’s counsel argued that the documents requested go beyond the scope of discovery and that the additional documents would infringe on the defendants’ rights and privacy interests. Emails between the parties were provided as proof of the “good faith” effort from the defendants to provide documents to the plaintiffs.
Nolan previously argued that the plaintiffs simply want an official record that McMahon paid for Grant’s medical bills and are not looking for personal information. Judge Bothwell also questioned Frank Silvestri, an attorney for Colker, about how a paper trail of someone of McMahon’s financial status would be difficult to find. Bothwell added that it was the defendants’ responsibility to review the documents and decide what, if anything, falls under physician-patient privilege.
The litigation between Colker and Grant is not a typical civil lawsuit but an action in which Grant has asked the court to require Colker to turn over evidence. The matter is in state-level court in Connecticut, a different venue from the federal U.S. District Court in Connecticut, where Grant is suing McMahon and WWE, alleging McMahon sexually assaulted and trafficked her. McMahon has denied the allegations. That case is still pending, awaiting a decision on whether Grant will be able to request evidence related to the dispute about whether the case should be moved to private arbitration.
Separately but also in federal court in Connecticut, Colker is suing one of Grant’s attorneys, Ann Callis, in a defamation case that is also ongoing.
