On Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey Meyer ruled to deny Vince McMahon’s motion to enforce the federal court’s stay order against Janel Grant.
Grant filed a petition in Connecticut state court last month to access medical records from Dr. Carlon Colker and his clinic, Peak Wellness. Neither Colker nor his clinic are defendants in the $ex trafficking lawsuit that Grant, a former WWE employee, filed against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis. Grant’s case against those parties was initiated in federal court in January.
McMahon’s attorneys argued the following week that Grant’s legal action in Connecticut state Superior Court violated the six-month stay on Grant’s federal lawsuit, which was implemented due to an ongoing federal investigation involving U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of New York.
McMahon had asked the judge to prevent Grant from using any materials obtained through the petition and that she be held in contempt.
Meyer ruled that the stay doesn’t apply to Grant’s proceedings in state court:
“Federal district courts do not ordinarily regulate or sit in review of proceedings in state courts, and the Court’s stay order did not purport to extend to any state court proceedings. If there is any objection to state court proceedings, relief should be should [sic] in state court rather than in this Court. Accordingly, the Court DENIES defendant McMahon’s motion to enforce the Court’s stay order for failure to show that there has been a violation of the Court’s stay order.”
UPDATE: McMahon’s attorney Jessica Taub Rosenberg issued the following statement to us:
“Ms. Grant’s attempt to seek discovery in state court despite a stay in federal court exemplifies her consistently deceitful behavior and lack of integrity; we will, per the Federal Court’s order, continue to pursue a court order to stop her.”
The federal lawsuit was paused by the judge, with the consent of the parties, in June due to the federal investigation.
Authorities from the Southern District of New York are conducting a federal investigation into allegations of $ex trafficking and $exual assault, according to a February report from The Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, new sealed filings from both Grant and U.S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi appeared on the docket, which aren’t publicly viewable. Attempts to reach Grant’s representatives and a representative for the Southern District of New York about those filings have not yet received responses.
Meyer approved the sealing of those filings on Monday as well.
Grant claims that McMahon directed her to receive treatment at Peak Wellness, a clinic in Greenwich, Connecticut. She alleged in her state filing that she was given pills and I.V. infusions, and that Colker refused to disclose the substances used. She stated that the medical records provided to her so far were inconsistent and inaccurate.
