A new report provides an update on the lawsuit that Kevin Kelly and the Tate Twins filed against AEW.
As previously reported by The Wrestling News, Kevin Kelly and The Tate Twins (The Boys) filed a lawsuit against AEW following their respective terminations from the company. Kelly alleges defamation and seeks monetary damages from Ian Riccaboni and AEW. He also claims that his termination was in breach of his contract.
The Tate Twins also allege that Tony Khan’s comments about how they no-showed events were defamatory. The suit also seeks to void the arbitration clause of the talent contracts all three were under in AEW, and they aim to have the court certify “a class-action suit against AEW over claims the company is misclassifying its wrestling talent as independent contractors, rather than employees.”
John Pollock of POST Wrestling and Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics report an update. They write that AEW seeks to move the case to federal court, specifically the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Thurston and Pollock note that the plaintiffs intend to request to have the case be returned to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia. Stephen P. New, the plaintiffs’ attorney, responded to a request for comment by saying that they “plan to move to remand.”
More Details
Per Thurston and Pollock, the attorneys for AEW, Khan, and Riccaboni assert that this case meets thresholds under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA). This is applicable “to any class action before or after the entry of a class certification order by the court with respect to that action.”
The report notes that these factors include class actions where the amount in question is greater than $5 million for the entire class and the putative class, contains a minimum of members, and any member of the putative class is a citizen of a state that differs from the defendants.
Pollock and Thurston continue by noting that the misclassification issue in the suit is divided into two classes, “all current and former Talent” and “all current and former wrestlers.” These classes would cover all talent and wrestlers who worked for AEW from September 1, 2022, to the present.
Financial Details
Furthermore, Pollock and Thurston cite a declaration from AEW Senior Vice President of Business Strategy Chris Harrington, who writes that “290 individuals provided services for AEW as wrestlers or non-wrestling talent under independent contractor agreements” in the given time period. The report notes that AEW was said to have paid those members “more than $60,000,000 in the aggregate.
Based on these numbers, an average of approximately $207,000 was paid to each wrestler and talent over this period. However, there is presumably a disparity in compensation between the talent and the wrestlers.
Furthermore, Harrington’s declaration notes that ten members of the class reside in Pennsylvania, while Brandon and Brent Tate are residents of Tennessee. Additionally, Ian Riccaboni is a resident of Pennsylvania, and AEW is registered in both Delaware and Florida.
Harrington also writes that AEW would face a tax liability of “at least 9.95 % of the pay rendered to the putative class members, meaning more than $5,970,000 in the aggregate,” if they reclassified these members as employees. Additionally, Harrington writes that AEW would “incur costs in connection with employee benefits of approximately $18,125 annually per employee, meaning $5,256,250 per year in the aggregate.”
Finally, the report notes that AEW lists approximately $14,594,125 in expenses associated with the case, as well as an estimated 30% allocated for attorney fees, which greatly exceeds the minimum threshold of $5 million under CAFA.
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
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