Earlier this month, attorneys for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) were accused of filing “abusive” sanctions motions against plaintiffs’ attorneys in a class action lawsuit centering on wrestler’s injuries sustained from concussions. The accusations involve a set of interrogatories, signed by plaintiffs’ attorney Konstantine Kyros, where two of the plaintiffs allegedly claimed to have knowledge of fraud by the WWE. Attorneys for the WWE, however, contend that this information directly contradicts previous deposition testimony, where the plaintiffs claimed not to have knowledge of purported WWE fraud.
Former wrestlers Evan Singleton and Vito LoGrasso filed suit, on behalf of a class of wrestlers, alleging that the WWE failed to disclose information of the health risks that multiple concussions pose to a competitor. The WWE flatly denies that it owed any duty of care to the plaintiffs because “wrestling has an inherent risk of head injury that the plaintiffs were aware [of].” WWE is attempting to free itself from the remaining concussion claims against it after a Federal Judge refused to permit fifty new wrestlers from bringing a claim against the organization because any such claims would be time barred.
This latest round of malfeasance accusations comes on the heels of another accusation from WWE attorneys that the plaintiffs plagiarized portions of a concussion lawsuit against the National Football League (NFL). WWE asserts that the plaintiffs changed only the party names, keeping all of the other original language, and some of the claims include unrecognized causes of action. Further, attorneys for the WWE have previously filed three motions for sanctions against Mr. Kyros, to no avail. The plaintiffs have called these allegations “abusive” and indicative of a “personal vendetta” against Mr. Kyros.