Judge Sarah F. Russell has denied Janel Grant’s request for early discovery in her lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE, though she indicated Grant may renew the motion later in the proceedings.
In her ruling, Russell found that Grant had not established “good cause” for obtaining records and depositions before the defendants file their anticipated motions to compel arbitration. However, the judge left open the possibility of reconsidering the issue once those arbitration motions are submitted.
The judge’s order said she could not determine yet whether allowing discovery at this point is needed to resolve the arbitration issue.
The related portion of the order states:
Plaintiff [Grant] seeks discovery to support several grounds for avoiding arbitration. The court expresses no opinion as to the merits of these forthcoming arguments, or any other grounds that Plaintiff may choose to assert in opposition to Defendants’ Motions to Compel Arbitration. But the court has determined that it 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. After reviewing the briefing, the court will determine whether to permit the parties to take limited, reciprocal discovery.
The decision, filed Friday evening, moves the case forward after seven months of inactivity while awaiting the judge’s ruling. The long wait, while notable, is within federal judges’ broad discretion over the time they may take to make decisions.
The parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment from POST Wrestling.
Grant is a former WWE paralegal who alleges she was sex trafficked and sexually assaulted by McMahon during her time at the company, allegations that McMahon denies. Grant claims that WWE was negligent in allowing the alleged abuse.
The lawsuit was initially filed in January 2024, and led to McMahon’s resignation from all roles at WWE and TKO.
A $3 million nondisclosure agreement is key to the dispute, in part because it contains a clause directing disputes to be settled in private, binding arbitration, as opposed to a public court.
Russell also ordered the parties to meet and decide future deadlines for the defendants’ motions to compel arbitration, dates for oral arguments on that issue, and whether the parties want a referral to meet with a magistrate judge to consider a settlement.
John Laurinaitis was formerly a defendant in the case but was dropped in May 2025 following a confidential settlement with Grant.
