Last year, Major League Wrestling (MLW) filed a lawsuit against WWE on grounds of malicious interference with their contracts and business prospects. It was alleged that WWE had forced third parties to abandon agreements and prospective relationships with MLW. WWE was further accused of compelling the end of MLW’s negotiations with VICE TV in 2021.
Pwinsider is reporting that on Monday, February 14th, 2023, Judge Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court, California Northern District (San Jose) dismissed the antitrust lawsuit filed by MLW against WWE.
Judge Davila stated that MLW had not furnished adequate facts to plausibly allege a relevant antitrust market. He also ruled that some of the harms alleged by MLW were specific to them rather than the competition at large. These two reasons were pivotal for granting WWE’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
However, Judge Davila also stated that additional allegations may negate the deficiencies outlined in WWE’s motion, and thus allowed MLW three weeks to file an amended complaint.
MLW and WWE will go back into arguing over the discovery phase, which WWE had been fighting hard to avoid if MLW does file an amended pleading within 21 days. If MLW does not file an amended complaint, the case would be closed.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, MLW CEO Court Bauer issued a statement, noting that the MLW legal team is already preparing to file an amended complaint. He said,
“Our legal team is already at work on amending the complaint. We have every intention to continue pursuing our case against WWE.”
