Vince McMahon And Nick Khan Sanctioned By Judge In WWE Merger Lawsuit
Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster found that Vince McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan destroyed evidence in the merger lawsuit.
According to the filing (via Brandon Thurston at POST Wrestling), the court will treat five damaging facts as presumptively true when the case goes to trial next month.
The judge found that McMahon, Khan, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque (Triple H), and former WWE executives Stephanie McMahon and Brad Blum all used Signal’s auto-delete function, which wiped out messages they had a legal duty to preserve.
Laster listed the five presumed facts as follows:
- Emanuel’s promise to provide Vince with a continued role at any post-merger company after a transaction influenced Vince’s decision-making with respect to the merger.
- Emanuel’s offer of indemnification and other legal support related to pending federal investigations of Vince’s alleged misconduct influenced Vince’s decision-making with respect to the merger.
- Vince decided to pursue a transaction with Endeavor in 2022, before the Company initiated the strategic review process.
- Khan communicated with Emanuel between August and December 2022 to facilitate a transaction between WWE and Endeavor.
- Vince and Khan worked with [advisement firm] Raine to steer the process toward a deal with Endeavor and away from other potential bidders.
The defendants still have an opportunity to plead their case and overcome the presumptions.
The trial is scheduled to take place from June 8 to 12.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, alleges that McMahon predetermined the transaction with Endeavor to secure his continued role at the company in light of the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding him, rather than shopping WWE to maximize shareholder value.
