Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon & WWE cleared to resume

This story has been updated.

A six-month long pause in the civil case filed by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon, WWE & John Laurinaitis ended on Wednesday, clearing the way for the near year-long lawsuit to resume.

Filed this past January, Grant’s lawsuit accuses McMahon and Laurinaitis of sexual assault and trafficking during their time together at WWE, something the two men have denied. Both are no longer with WWE or its parent company, TKO.

Per a June request from the U.S. Department of Justice in order to continue their pursuit of their own federal criminal investigation of McMahon, the lawsuit was paused for six months. On Wednesday, the Southern District of New York allowed that pause/stay to expire while the federal investigation also continues.

Grant’s legal team released the following statement about the ruling:

“Today, the United States Southern District for New York informed us that they will be letting the stay expire on Janel Grant’s lawsuit against former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, WWE executive John Laurinaitis, and WWE for sexual assault and human trafficking. This decision allows Ms. Grant to proceed with her civil charges against McMahon, Laurinaitis, and WWE while federal prosecutors continue their criminal investigation.“

Grant’s lawyer Ann Callis released the following statement of her own:

“We are pleased that prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have concluded that they can continue their criminal investigation while we bring forward new evidence in our civil case about the sexual exploitation carried out by Janel Grant’s abusers. For the last six months, Ms. Grant has patiently waited to hold Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE accountable for the sex trafficking and abuse she endured at the company on a near daily basis. Her wait is over, and we now look forward to sharing Ms. Grant’s story.”

On Thursday, McMahon’s attorney Jessica Rosenberg released a brief statement to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston:

“Ms. Grant’s representative’s self-serving statement is, as usual, factually incorrect and intellectually dishonest.”

The legal team for WWE or Laurinaitis have yet to release their response as of this writing.