Vince McMahon Sued by WWE Investor Who Said He’d Seek Board Ban

A WWE Inc. investor sued Vince McMahon, apparently following up on an earlier threat to seek a lifetime board ban against the company’s longtime chairman over “horrific” sexual assault allegations.

The lawsuit in Delaware’s Chancery Court was filed under seal Monday, but the court docket indicates it includes fiduciary breach claims against McMahon and two other board members he brought with him when he stormed back to the WWE helm after a six-month exile.

The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The new complaint reflects further fallout from the rape and hush money accusations against McMahon, as well as from his surprise return in January, when he allegedly exploited his majority control to name himself chairman and push through bylaw changes seizing power from the board.

The corporate coup reinstalled McMahon as the head of a WWE royal family that includes his daughter, Stephanie—who stepped down as chairman and co-CEO in early January—and son-in-law, the former wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque. McMahon walked back some of the bylaw changes after shareholders challenged them in court.

The investor behind the new shareholder derivative suit, Dennis Palkon, previously sued WWE seeking internal files in an effort to build a fiduciary breach case. In the earlier complaint, which accused McMahon of “thuggery,” Palkon said he planned to bring additional claims seeking to bar McMahon “from ever serving on the WWE board again.”

The dispute follows several other shareholder suits stemming from McMahon’s return to the company. Investors leading two of the cases—both centering on allegations that the bylaw changes were illegal—have dropped their claims and requested a “mootness fee” as a reward for forcing McMahon’s hand.

A third shareholder is pressing broader claims directly involving allegations that McMahon assaulted employees and paid nearly $15 million to cover it up. The new suit appears to echo those claims, although a request to ban McMahon—if Palkon did indeed follow through with one—would take them a step further.

The other board members named as defendants, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, previously left the board as part of a leadership shakeup in 2020. A month after participating in McMahon’s takeover, they announced they were teaming up with NBA great Carmelo Anthony on a sports-related investment venture.

A redacted version of the sealed complaint will likely be made public within five days under Chancery Court confidentiality rules.

Palkon is represented by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP. WWE is represented in one of the related cases by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. McMahon doesn’t appear to have responded to any of the complaints, based on a review of the court dockets.

The case is Palkon v. McMahon, Del. Ch., No. 2023-0274, complaint filed under seal 3/6/23.