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WWE Rumbles Over Wrestlers' Employment Status
The American Lawyer
August 26, 2008
For 20 years, K&L Gates lawyer Jerry McDevitt has guided the WWE through everything from a steroid trial to an initial public offering. And the work isn't letting up.
On Friday, McDevitt and a team of lawyers from Day Pitney removed a lawsuit to federal court that has the potential to dramatically change the company's finances -- and, possibly, its stock price, according to one WWE executive. In the case, filed in July, three wrestlers claim they function as full-time employees (the company even determines their hairstyles) but are classified as independent contractors -- a status that costs them benefits and deprives the IRS of taxes, the complaint claims.
The wrestlers, Scott "Raven" Levy, Christopher "Kanyon" Kluscartis and "Above Average" Michael Sanders are represented by litigation boutique Silver, Golub & Teitell in Stamford, Conn., the WWE's hometown.
McDevitt says the suit is bogus but won't reveal his argument. He's saving those details for a motion to dismiss that the team will file in federal court this week, he says.
Meanwhile, the WWE and Chairman Vince McMahon are keeping McDevitt busy, he says. The company fended off accusations that former star Chris Benoit went into a steroid-induced "rage" before murdering his wife and son, then killing himself last year, McDevitt says. WWE is in court trying to void its video game licenses, claiming two companies bribed a former WWE executive and licensing agent to get the lucrative deals.
And there's always the big panda in the courtroom. The World Wildlife Fund is still seeking damages abroad related to the successful litigation in which it claimed and won ownership of the "WWF" acronym and trademark. "The WWE has been a great client," he says, "but unfortunately, they are sometimes faced with lawsuits like this."
