Over the summer, several law firms sent out press releases noting they considered bringing a class-action lawsuit against WWE following the Vince McMahon hush money scandal.
The firms noted that they were investigating WWE for “violations of the securities laws” on behalf of WWE investors and were focused on “whether WWE and/or the company’s officers and directors violated the securities laws or breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the above alleged misconduct.”
Kaskela Law LLC, Scott+Scott, Rosen Law Firm, Schall Law Firm, Brager Eagel & Squire, Labaton Sucharow, Moore Kuehn PLLC, Pomerantz Law Firm, and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC) were just some of the firms investigating the situation.
The press release issued by the firms referred to the Wall Street Journal reports regarding McMahon’s hush money scandal, which forced him to retire as WWE Chairman. WWE’s Board Of Directors later investigated the scandal.
Scott+Scott filed a WWE shareholder derivative suit last June after the allegations were made. The lawsuit may move forward with Vince returning to WWE’s Board of Directors.
PWInsider recently shared an update email from the Scott+Scott lawyers via a friend of his, who happens to be in the WWE shareholder derivative suit that was filed in June:
“I hope you had a great holiday season. I’m writing with an update on WWE. We have been working with the company for several months and have received several internal documents, which we have been reviewing. We expect to get an additional batch of documents this week.
You also may have seen the news this past week about Vince McMahon forcing his way back onto the board, along with a major board shakeup. As a result, we believe there is enough of a basis to bring a breach of a fiduciary lawsuit. We hope to file a complaint against McMahon and possibly other directors/officers for breaching their duties to WWE and its shareholders. We should have a draft for you to review in the next couple of days.
It will also require a signature on a one-page verification which we will also send. In the meantime, do you have a phone number we could use in case we need to contact you that way? Please let me know if you have any questions about anything.”
McMahon and WWE have stated that his return was to help lead the company in its next TV rights deal negotiations and explore the possibility of a sale. McMahon elected himself back to the Board, something the Board stated in a late December letter they didn’t want.
