Ring Boy Lawsuit Allowed To Continue For Most Claims

TRIGGER WARNING – SEXUAL ABUSE

A ruling on Thursday stated that seven of the eight ring boy plaintiffs will continue in their lawsuit against WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon. The ruling also distinguished which former ring attendants have claims against which defendants.

The plaintiffs allege abuse by the ring announcer Mel Phillips, who died in 2012, during their work as minors for the World Wrestling Federation in the 1970s through the early 1990s. The defendants are being accused of negligence.

According to Brandon Thurston at POST Wrestling, the allegations of two of the ring boys, John Doe 2 and 6, will proceed with their cases against Linda McMahon

All seven of the remaining plaintiffs will proceed with their claims against the company and Vince McMahon.

John Doe 7’s claims, which were the earliest of all, set in the 1970s, were dismissed by the judge against all defendants. The claim could be refiled.

On the surviving claims, Judge James K. Bredar rejected the defendants’ arguments that the plaintiffs’ allegations should be dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction in Maryland, where the case is being litigated in federal court.

The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 was upheld in a Maryland Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

In a press release from DiCello Levitt, the law firm representing the ring boys, Greg Gutzler, a key attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “Today’s ruling affirms that our clients’ allegations deserve to be heard in court and marks a significant step forward for these survivors.”

“For too long, these survivors carried this burden alone,” Adam Prom, a partner at the firm, added. “We will fight vigorously to secure the justice they were denied for decades and pursue redress from those who failed to protect them.”

The case will now move to the discovery phase.

The lawsuit was originally filed in October 2024. You can read the full lawsuit here.