Janel Grant’s federal lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE has been dismissed, moving the allegations out of public court and into private arbitration.
A Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The filing dismisses the action with prejudice while preserving each side’s right to pursue its claims and defenses in arbitration under an agreement the parties had already executed.
The stipulation states that the action and all claims “are hereby dismissed with prejudice, but without prejudice as to the Parties’ rights to pursue their claims and defenses in arbitration in accordance with their agreement to arbitrate.” It was signed by attorneys for Grant, McMahon, and WWE, with Grant represented by Ann Callis.
Dismissal with prejudice means the same claims cannot be refiled in that court. It does not resolve the underlying allegations, and it is not a ruling on their merits.
How The Case Reached Arbitration
Grant sued in January 2024, accusing McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking and alleging WWE enabled or concealed his conduct. McMahon has repeatedly denied the allegations. WWE has disputed them.
Much of the litigation turned on venue rather than substance. McMahon and WWE argued that an arbitration clause in a 2022 nondisclosure agreement required the dispute be handled privately. Grant’s side argued she signed that agreement under duress and that the clause should not be enforced, a position she later reversed when she joined McMahon and WWE in asking the court to move the case to arbitration. The court issued an order clearing that path on July 13.
John Laurinaitis was originally named as a defendant. He was dropped from the case in May 2025 after reaching a confidential settlement, and agreed to cooperate with Grant’s attorneys against McMahon and WWE.
With the case now in arbitration, filings, hearings, and testimony that would have been public are expected to stay confidential. The outcome may never be disclosed.
