WWE has filed a lawsuit against several former WWE stars seeking a declaratory judgment against them. The complaint, filed in federal court in Connecticut is a result of a pre-litigation letter concerning potential concussion lawsuits against the company.
Robert Windham (aka Blackjack Mulligan), Thomas Billington (aka Dynamite Kid), James Ware (aka Koko B. Ware) and Oreal Perras (aka Ivan Koloff) are the named defendants. The WWE is seeking a court order stating that any potential lawsuit alleging traumatic brain injuries “and/or tort claims Defendants have threatened against WWE are time-barred by the applicable statutes of limitations/statues of repose under Connecticut law.”
The WWE strategy is a result of the growing swell of lawsuits filed by former WWE performers claiming that the company knew or should have known about the risks of head trauma and that they suffered injury as a result. Although not a named defendant in the lawsuit, the WWE names (and blames) plaintiff attorney Konstantine Kyros for the litigation. It identifies several notice letters (below) which request that the WWE not destroy any information it may have. The lawsuit identifies the existing lawsuits Kyros has filed on behalf of former WWE stars including Billy Jack Haynes.
The lawsuit requests a court ruling indicating that the defendants’ claims are time-barred by the statutes of limitations/repose under Connecticut law. Essentially, the defendants did not file their claims on time. This is always a very hard issue to consider as most of the claims that wrestlers could make occur when they are still contracted by the company.
Ex A – Kyros Letter on Behalf of Windham
Payout Perspective:
One can see the strategy for the WWE here as it recognizes the growing litigation on the horizon. It need only look at the NFL and NHL lawsuits to know that it needs to block the potential floodgates of litigation. The estate of Matt Osborne was the latest to file a lawsuit against the WWE. Recently, a court in Oregon where the Haynes lawsuit was filed transferred the case to Connecticut upon WWE motion. The WWE is seeking to do the same in other lawsuits filed across the country. Based on the WWE’s filing here, it would seem that once it brings the case under Connecticut jurisdiction, it will file a motion to dismiss based on the applicable statute of limitations under Connecticut law.
We will keep you posted.
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