Janel Grant asks court to deny Vince McMahon’s doctor’s motion to dismiss

  • Ian Carey
  • By 

Attorneys representing Janel Grant have filed a new legal motion in Connecticut state court today against Dr. Carlon Colker, physician and owner of Peak Wellness, Inc.

Grant’s attorneys allege Vince McMahon sent Grant to Colker’s medical clinic and sexually abused her with a clinic employee. It is also alleged that McMahon was given access to Grant’s private medical records and was dictating her treatment at the clinic.

“McMahon, who was in direct contact with Dr. Colker, obtained access to Ms. Grant’s private medical records and dictated her treatments. A physical therapist at Peak Wellness joined McMahon in the repeated sexual abuse of Ms. Grant, including one instance in which McMahon defecated on Ms. Grant’s head and forced her to continue engaging in a sexual act with the Peak Wellness employee,” reads a press release sent to WON/F4W and other media outlets.

Grant was a patient at Peak Wellness from November 22, 2019, through April 15, 2022, and is believed to have been seen at the clinic more than 60 times.

The filing further alleges that Dr. Colker “repeatedly medicated Grant with unknown substances,” sometimes given intravenously.

On July 1, 2024, Grant filed a Bill of Discovery in Connecticut court, seeking access to her complete medical and billing records, along with communications between McMahon and Colker. In response, Colker and Peak Wellness filed a motion to dismiss on August 29. Today’s filing seeks to have that motion denied.

“Imagine being at your most vulnerable, and the doctor you are told to see only makes you feel worse,” said Ann Callis, Grant’s attorney. “Our filing today makes clear that Dr. Colker violated ethical and medical standards when he injected unknown substances into Janel’s body and directed her to take unlabeled pills while dismissing her basic questions about those drugs. Peak Wellness owes Janel Grant answers and the clinic’s secrecy and evasion must come to an end.”

Grant’s attorneys request the following eight categories of medical and billing records be turned over by Colker and Peak Wellness:

  • Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records, including all associated metadata;
  • Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ recordkeeping and billing procedures;
  • Payment records relating to Ms. Grant;
  • Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ payment arrangements with McMahon and/or WWE;
  • The purpose of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
  • The substance of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
  • Any communications between Dr. Colker and McMahon relating to Ms. Grant; and
  • Dr. Colker’s involvement in recommending Ms. Grant’s attorney for negotiation of the purported non-disclosure agreement.

Lawyers representing Dr. Colker issued the following statement to Post Wrestling’s Brandon Thurston:

“As counsel for Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness, we can confirm that Ms. Grant and her counsel have long-since received Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records in accordance with the law. Any statement by Ms. Grant and her counsel that indicates otherwise is simply untrue.”

Grant v. Colker timeline

  • In February 2024, Grant’s lawyers requested her medical records from the clinic but were provided with incomplete paper records.
  • On March 20, 2024, Grant’s counsel sent a second request seeking her records and was again provided with incomplete data.
  • July 1, 2024: Grant filed a Bill of Discovery in Connecticut court seeking her medical and billing records from Peak Wellness.
  • On July 25, 2024, McMahon’s lawyers argued that Grant’s filing in a state court violated the federal stay order related to Grant’s lawsuit against WWE, John Laurinaitis, and Vince McMahon filed in January. They petitioned the federal court to temporarily lift the stay order to ensure Grant “abides by the Court’s order and if she does not that civil contempt and financial sanctions may result.”
  • On August 6, 2024, a judge denied McMahon’s motion, stating that the action taken in a Connecticut court did not violate the stay order in federal court.
  • Also on August 6, 2024, Dr. Colker’s lawyers filed a response to Grant’s Bill of Discovery stating it was part of a “smear campaign.” Colker’s complaint also requested that Grant “provide information concerning her activities in intentionally fostering patent lies and material misstatements.”
  • On August 12, 2024, Grant filed to strike the complaint by Dr. Colker.
  • On August 29, 2024, Colker’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss.
  • On September 4, 2024, Colker voluntarily withdrew his complaint.
  • On October 15, 2024, Grant’s lawyers filed a memorandum of law asking the court to deny Colker’s motion to dismiss.

Grant’s lawyers have also called on WWE to release former employees/contractors from non-disclosure agreements to allow other potential victims of McMahon to come forward. Two famous precedents exist involving similar cases. In 2018, The Weinstein Company freed former employees from NDAs to allow other potential victims of Harvey Weinstein to come forward. Similarly, NBCUniversal released employees from NDAs in 2019 concerning former “Today” host Matt Lauer.

“If WWE and its parent company Endeavor are serious about parting ways with Vince McMahon and the toxic workplace culture he created, their executives should have no problem with releasing former WWE employees from their NDAs,” Ann Callis, Grant’s attorney, said in a statement. “This is the first step to rehabilitating a company that covered up decades of sexual assault and human trafficking.”

Today’s press release reads:

“NEW: Vince McMahon Sent Janel Grant to Medical Clinic Where Doctor Medicated Her with Unknown Substances & Employed A Physical Therapist Who Participated in Her Sexual Abuse, Attorneys Submit in Legal Filing

The physician was paid by Vince McMahon and the clinic has refused to provide Ms. Grant her full medical records as required by law.

NEW YORK, NY – Today, attorneys for Janel Grant submitted a new legal filing in Connecticut state court against Dr. Carlon Colker, a physician on former WWE CEO Vince McMahon’s payroll, and Peak Wellness, Inc., the medical clinic owned by Dr. Colker. The filing alleges that McMahon sent Ms. Grant to the medical clinic and sexually abused her with one of the clinic’s employees. The filing also alleges that Dr. Colker repeatedly medicated Ms. Grant with unknown substances, including intravenously. It seeks to compel Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness to turn over Ms. Grant’s full electronic medical and billing records as well as messages between Dr. Colker and Vince McMahon regarding Ms. Grant.

When Ms. Grant was suffering from symptoms of severe stress and trauma due to her abuse, Vince McMahon coerced her to schedule appointments at Peak Wellness. McMahon, who was in direct contact with Dr. Colker, obtained access to Ms. Grant’s private medical records and dictated her treatments. A physical therapist at Peak Wellness joined McMahon in the repeated sexual abuse of Ms. Grant, including one instance in which McMahon defecated on Ms. Grant’s head and forced her to continue engaging in a sexual act with the Peak Wellness employee.

“Imagine being at your most vulnerable, and the doctor you are told to see only makes you feel worse,” said Ann Callis, attorney for Janel Grant. “Our filing today makes clear that Dr. Colker violated ethical and medical standards when he injected unknown substances into Janel’s body and directed her to take unlabeled pills while dismissing her basic questions about those drugs. Peak Wellness owes Janel Grant answers and the clinic’s secrecy and evasion must come to an end.”

On July 1, 2024, Ms. Grant’s attorneys filed a bill of discovery request against Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness to gain access to her full electronic medical and billing records as well all messages between Dr. Colker and McMahon regarding Ms. Grant after they repeatedly refused to comply with Ms. Grant’s requests. In response to this proceeding, both McMahon and Dr. Colker made separate attempts to block Ms. Grant’s filing. McMahon’s attempt to block Ms. Grant’s bill of discovery proceeding was denied by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on August 6, 2024.

All patients have the right to receive their full medical records under federal and state law, including HIPAA, the Cures Act, and Connecticut General Statutes § 20-7c. Ms. Grant has requested her full electronic medical records from Peak Wellness on several different occasions, and each time the clinic has failed to comply with her requests. Specifically, in the new legal filing, Ms. Grant has requested eight different categories of records from Peak Wellness, including:

  • Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records, including all associated metadata;
  • Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ recordkeeping and billing procedures;
  • Payment records relating to Ms. Grant;
  • Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ payment arrangements with McMahon and/or WWE;
  • The purpose of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
  • The substance of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
  • Any communications between Dr. Colker and McMahon relating to Ms. Grant; and
  • Dr. Colker’s involvement in recommending Ms. Grant’s attorney for negotiation of the purported non-disclosure agreement.

Ms. Grant is the former WWE employee and sexual assault and human trafficking survivor who has filed a lawsuit against former WWE CEO McMahon, former WWE executive John Laurinaitis, and the WWE organization.”