The legal chaos surrounding WWEs alleged trafficking scandal just took another sharp turn.
A federal judge ordered a filing to be sealed after personal medical records of Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, were publicly viewablewithout redactionson the court docket.
The unsealed documents were submitted Tuesday night by lawyers for Dr. Carlon Colker, whos suing Grants attorney, Ann Callis, for defamation. Colker claims Callis and her law firm lied about his medical treatment of Grant, who has accused Vince McMahon and WWE of trafficking and abuse in a separate federal lawsuit.
Grants lawsuit says she was sent to Colkers Peak Wellness clinic by McMahon, where she was allegedly given unnamed pills and IV infusions. Colker denies any wrongdoing and is not a defendant in the trafficking case. But hes now fighting back against Callis, claiming she defamed him in media statements and press materials.
To support his defamation claim, Colkers team filed a legal brief quoting Grants confidential medical records. That move backfired. On Wednesday, Judge Sarah F. Russell sealed the document, citing a non-partys [Grants] birth date and medical records that are the subject of an unopposed Motion to Seal.
Colkers attorneys later filed a version with the sensitive information blacked out. But the damage may already be done. Grants private health information, which had previously been shielded from public view, was temporarily available for anyone to see via the courts online system.
Neither Colkers attorneys nor representatives for Grant responded to requests for comment. One of the key questionswhether the unredacted filing was a mistakeremains unanswered.
Colkers lead attorney, Alejandro Brito, is also representing Donald Trump in multiple defamation lawsuits. In his filing this week, Brito argued that Calliss remarks about Colker met the actual malice standard required for defamation cases involving public figures, though hes also signaling that he may argue Colker isnt a public figure at all.
Colkers legal team doubled down in their brief, writing that even a cursory review of the medical records supports the notion of patient-initiated, informed, and consented treatments of Grant.
The case is just one of many legal battles tied to the scandal that forced McMahon out of WWE twice. Grants legal team claims that actions like Colkers lawsuit and the repeated issues obtaining full records from Peak Wellness are part of a broader pattern of retaliation.
In a related state court case, Grant is suing Colker and Peak Wellness in Connecticut to obtain more documents tied to her care. Earlier this month, a judge gave her permission to also seek communications involving Colker, McMahon, WWE, or his staff.
Whether this filing incident was an honest error or a legal tactic remains up for debatebut whats clear is this fight is far from over.
Do you think Colkers filing crossed a line by including private medical recordsor was it fair game in a defamation case? Sound off in the comments below and let us know your take.
