TNA Suing WWE

[Deezy]

Seems like a non-issue.

Mirrors Zuffa vs Bellator to me.

 

[AZUCAR!]

TNA have got a Temporary Restraining Order against WWE now

TNA Entertainment Releases Statement Regarding Current Litigation

NASHVILLE, Tenn -- TNA Entertainment, LLC President Dixie Carter releases a statement in regard to the recent TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) the company filed against WWE in the Davidson County Circuit Court in Nashville, Tennessee.

TNA President Dixie Carter states, "We were not surprised that the Court originally granted a swift temporary restraining order against WWE to prohibit interference with TNA's contracts and business relationships. I'm pleased that the Court has now replaced that temporary measure with the most recent judicial Order. The Judge's current Order sends a strong message about the importance of TNA protecting its trade secrets. Obviously, the accuracy of what WWE has represented remains important, so I look forward to the discovery process and what is revealed during litigation. As always, we will vigorously protect TNA and its brand from damage at the hands of any and all sources, no matter who is involved."

 

[Troy]

I don't really get what that will do for TNA. It will "prohibit interference with TNA's contracts and business relationships." So WWE won't be able to broker a deal with any TNA wrestler under contract, which was what was already in place. Doesn't mean that they can't sign guys that come out of contract so in the end it probably won't change anything.

 

[Dale]

We need SAL, our resident lawyer to break this shit down.

 

[Troy]

Another update stating that the temporary restraining order against WWE was disolved a few days ago.

Following their statements made to the court about WWE computer network and how they policed it looking for evidence that the file former office worker Brian Wittenstein had dispersed confidential TNA information to anyone beyond John Laurinaitis, the temporary restraining order against WWE was dissolved officially on 6/8.

The order against Wittenstein remains, demanding he return any confidential information and not tamper or destroy it.

Also filed with the court on 6/8 was a letter from WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt to TNA legal counsel Erika Blonquist, stating that he wanted to document several facts for the record before the case moved forward, writing:

"First, and as I advised you orally on the phone during our recent conference call, WWE has not solicited Ric Flair to leave TNA and enter into a contract with WWE. WWE has made no offer to Flair and has no intention of doing so.

Second, as I also advised you, WWE has not solicited any other current TNA talent to repudiate their contracts and enter into a contract with WWE. WWE has no interest in current TNA talent."

Had to laugh at the last line because of how harsh it sounds. I am sure that WWE are interested in some TNA talent but will wait until their contract expires rather than convincing them to break contracts.

 

[Deezy]

So this is finally a non-issue?

Bout time.

 

[Troy]

There will be a hearing in the WWE vs. TNA lawsuit on Friday 6/29 in Nashville, TN.

WWE requested the hearing as they have asked the court to Alter, Amend or Clarify the Order dissolving the temporary restraining order against them. Due to the wording used in the language of the order, WWE feels that some of the statements could create "further disparagement and controversy", so they filed the following motion seeking to clarify their stance on the lawsuit. Basically, WWE wants to make sure they are not trapped by some of the language used in the order dissolving their restraining order as the court used some material TNA proposed and adopted their wording. WWE does not want to be bound legally by that wording as the case progresses.

Here's a quick recap of some highlights:

*During the 6/4 hearing, both WWE and TNA agreed to back away from the requested expedited discovery in regard to the confidential information Brian Wittenstein had passed on to John Laurinaitis. They could not come to an agreement regarding the restraining order TNA filed, leaving that up to the court to decide. The court felt that WWE's explanation of how they had used their own internal security procedures to police their servers was enough to show they didn't have any other copies of the material Wittenstein brought to them.

*WWE noted that Ric Flair was the only identified name that WWE had allegedly sought out while under contract to TNA. However, TNA had terminated Flair on 5/11/12, two weeks before TNA filed their lawsuit. So, while WWE was not planning to offer Flair a deal, he was also not technically a TNA talent, as the lawsuit claimed.

*There were no other contracted TNA talents named as allegedly contacted by WWE to induce them to leave TNA and get out of their contracts to go to WWE.

*The court asked both WWE and TNA to submit proposed orders to the court in regard to the situation. WWE was not happy with the language of the TNA filing as it did "not accurately represent the statements" WWE made to the court and only maintained the temporary restraining order.

*WWE noted that they only received the confidential TNA information from former WWE/TNA office worker Brian Wittenstein after he verbally offered the information. WWE claimed they were given a flash drive containing the information from Wittenstein "out of concern for the propriety of Wittenstein having such information." Laurinaitis handed it over to the company's in-house legal department and when they confirmed what the information was, Wittenstein was let go from WWE. They were not happy with the wording used in the motion as it could not be conducive with language that may be used during a potential deposition.

*WWE did not want the term "TNA personnel" used in court documents, since that was farther reaching than the issue as hand, being that the company had contacted "TNA Wrestlers."
*WWE wanted to make it clear that they never represented that they and Ric Flair had "no contact", only that they had "not solicited" Flair, "nor made any offer to him, and has no intention of doing so."

According to court documents filed in the WWE vs. TNA lawsuit case, TNA officially terminated Ric Flair on May 11, 2012.

WWE made that statement in the court documents while noting that Flair had been let go several weeks before TNA filed a lawsuit alleging that WWE had gone after Flair, described as "under a TNA contract" in the lawsuit.

That date would be Friday 5/11 while TNA's Sacrifice PPV was on 5/13. TNA claimed in the original PPV lawsuit that Flair had no showed the PPV. If he was fired, as the filing claims, he couldn't have no showed as he was no longer employed by the company.

It's interesting to note that Flair is still listed as an official member of the TNA roster on the company website.
I'll have more on the WWE vs. TNA lawsuit shortly.

Truth is starting to come out now and TNA could be in a bit of trouble. I know that lying under oath is perjury but what is it called when you lie to the court in official documents? TNA claiming that Flair no-showed a PPV when he had already been fired is poor, plus their whole lawsuit is based on WWE trying to poach Flair when he wasn't even under contract.

 

[Deuce]

I just don't see TNA winning in court, the WWE is just bigger and better in my opinion.

 

[Troy]

Being bigger and better doesn't mean anything in court. From reading the news stories it does seem like TNA has a very weak case against WWE and that they won't win but it has nothing to do with the size of either company.