TNA has filed a lawsuit against WWE and former TNA and WWE employee Brian Wittenstein. The company filed the lawsuit yesterday in Nashville with charges of interference with existing contracts, conversion, breach of contract, civil conspiracy, unfair competition, and violation of the Tennessee Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Wittenstein is also being sued for breach of duty of loyalty.

The suit claims that Wittenstein, who worked for the company for three years from 2008 – 2011, gave WWE inside information on contracts and other details from his time working with the company and that WWE is trying to steal talent from the company via that information. Wittenstein was hired by WWE earlier this year but was let go in April, which TNA claims is after they were presented with the information. However, WWE did not inform TNA that they had been given that information for several weeks.

TNA claims that they were informed of the insider information on May 7th and that several days later, Ric Flair approached TNA trying to get out of his contract so he could go to WWE. The company says Flair hasn’t appeared at events since. Alex Shelley, who is rumored to be heading to WWE, was not mentioned in the lawsuit.

An injunction has been issued demanding that WWE and Wittenstein return whatever confidential material Wittenstein obtained from TNA and were specifically instructed not to destroy any of the material. A hearing is set for next month.

http://www.prowrestlingscoops.com/wwe/wwe-news/breaking-news-tna-sues-wwe/

Wow,This could be interesting. Like I always said,Nash and Hall where always under WWE payroll no matter where they go.
This could be a reverse WWE/WCW lawsuit.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

" The suit claims that Wittenstein, who worked for the company for three years from 2008 – 2011, gave WWE inside information on contracts and other details from his time working with the company and that WWE is trying to steal talent from the company via that information."

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Their implications in the suit don't even make sense.

This is going to be beyond hilarious. You shouldn't wake a sleeping bear Dixie.

I wonder what they are seeking in damages. The only time anyone came close was with Owen's death and they settled out of court.

Vince and McDivitt are going to crush Dixie just for fun after this. She was off the radar and now she wants Vince's attention? She should be grateful Vince lets her company even exist.

WWE's 2012 first quarter balance sheet is showing over $60 MILLION in cash just sitting in the bank and she can't pay Jimmy Yang $200 and now she's picking a fight with Vince over Alex Shelley and Ric Flair (who she is paying $37,500 per appearance. that or $35,000, don't quote me but that's per Tommy Dreamer who was booking in TNA for a while)?

Their net income for just Q1 2012 was over $15 Million and that doesn't include anything associated with Mania which I'm assuming they made a few bucks on.

They beat the feds in the Zahorian trial (actually they prosecuted incorrectly) and he told congress to fuck off during the congressional investigation into steroids in 2011 and the $110 million lawsuit from Sable got laughed at and she was rehired.

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If this is what Vince's lawyers tell a Congressional Investigation Committee, I can't even imagine what some judge and/or jury will hear in TN.

When a government investigator suggested that McMahon had admitted using steroids at his 1994 trial for distributing steroids, McMahon's lawyer interrupted.

"He didn't even testify in his trial," McMahon's lawyer said. "He didn't have to testify in his trial. We whipped the government's ass in 19 days without putting a witness on. Get your facts right. He didn't testify in the trial."

When the government investigator then asked McMahon if he had used steroids since 1996, McMahon's lawyer cut off the questioning. While McMahon stayed silent, his lawyer and the government investigator had an exchange that included McMahon's lawyer saying, "I'm not going to allow you to harass this man. ... And you came in here today professing you have an open mind and you're telling me that you didn't have this in mind when you wrote this list? Bulls**t."

And that was the tone and tenor of the conversation when Mr. McMahon went to Washington.

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and if you're bored, this is hilarious:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 05&scilh=0

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OMG A SPY!

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The two biggest wrestling promotions in the United States are now adversaries in court, largely stemming from the contractual
situation of Richard Fliehr (Ric Flair).

TNA filed a lawsuit againstWWE for interference in existing contracts, conversion, breach of contract, civil conspiracy, unfair
competition and a violation of the Tennessee Uniform Trade Secrets Act. They are also suiting Brian Wittenstein, a former TNA
employee who was hired this year byWWE, for breach of duty of loyalty, asking for him to return all money from his severance
package agreement because he violated the terms of it, as well as any TNA attorney fees from the lawsuit.
TNA filed and received a temporary restraining order on 5/23 againstWWE, alleging WWE with contract tampering in the case
of Flair.

While those at TNA have not spoken about the case, what is clear from the lawsuit is that it was Flair, and not TNAwho
attempted to get out of the relationship. At this point, Flair is still under contract to TNA, but not being used. An article in
Pwinsider.com, coming from the TNA side, gave the impression that Flair was fired when the company had decided to no
longer cover for his behavior, citing his being banned from the bar at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. One major star in the
company quickly rushed to Flair’s defense behind the scenes, saying he was mad at what he called the attempt to bury Flair
personally because it was Flair who was attempting to leave.

TNA did get a temporary restraining order againstWWE, prohibiting them from negotiating with and signing TNA talent. The
restraining order was done withoutWWE being aware of it happening or being able to argue the merits of the case.
Chancellor Eileen Hobbs Lyle signed the order on 5/24 requiring thatWWE and Wittenstein both return, and not destroy, the
disc containing the confidential information.

According to JerryMcDevitt,WWE will be arguing against an attempt by TNA to turn that temporary ruling into an injunction on
6/11, at a hearing in Knoxville.

The basics of the case revolves around Brian Wittenstein, a former TNA employee who worked underneath Terry Taylor from
2008 to 2011 when Taylor was the head of talent relations.Wittenstein was let go by TNA in August, 2011, and was hired in
February byWWE to work in the live events department under Michael Hayes. As part of his severance package, he was to
agree to return all companymaterials and not disclose any confidential information.
McDevitt said thatWittenstein had given WWE officials a disc with confidential information on TNA contracts. McDevitt said WWE
officials didn’t use the information, and after going through proper channels, fired Wittenstein.WWE officials also informed
Bruce Prichard at TNA on 5/7 of what had happened after they letWittenstein go, and lawyers from both sides were also in
contact. TNA followed by suing WWE, claiming that information was used in an attempt to raid Flair, and that they had been in
possession of the confidential materia for three weeks before contacting TNA.

TNA’s claim againstWWE is apparently having Wittenstein turn on them as to way to defend himself. TNA, in the lawsuit,
claimed Wittenstein, when contacted by TNA, informed them that he gave the information to WWE at their request.
TNA’s claim is thatWWE officials had fired Wittenstein three weeks before Prichard had been contacted and told about the
confidential disc he had taken with him and was going to give to WWE. TNA claimed theyweren’t aware of “the full breadth of
Wittenstein’s theft” and believed he took copioes of TNA policies and procedures, a spread sheet with the terms of all TNA
contracts, payment and royalty reports, as well as drafts of one contract and another executed contract, as well as a draft of a
promotional agreement with a TNA licensee.

The lawsuit had a memo sent to WWE summarizing all TNA contracts, including an e-mail where Wittenstein wrote to WWE,
“Attached, please find a contract status and terms chart for the TNAwrestling roster. I combined a bunch of different documents
that I had from there to put it all in one concise spreadsheet that should capture all the relevant information you would be
interested in. Here are a few notes for you regarding the TNA deals.”

Either Hayes or John Laurinaitis turned all the material over to the WWE in-house legal department and he was fired in April.
On 5/9, Flair want to TNA officials and asked to be released from his contract, and then missed scheduled house show dates
in Louisiana, the Sacrifice PPV, and the television taping on 5/15 that he was booked for. The lawsuit claims the timing ofWWE
receiving all the TNA contractual information and Flair leaving, and the belief he is headed to WWE is suspect, and they are
attempting to depose Flair, Laurinaitis and Paul Levesque regarding any contractual discussions with Flair.
WWE has not signed Flair or any TNA talent in some time.

Flair and TNA have not spoken either officially or unofficially regarding the subject of Flair’s contract, but one person close to the
situation said that things will eventually come out that will give Flair a release from the contract. TNA has yet to release Flair,
although there are no plans going forward of using him. Virtually everyone from TNA is unaware of any aspects of this and it is a
subject that nothing is being said about.

The lawsuit states, “The wrongful disclosure and misappropriation allows WWE to effectively price TNA out of the market and
cause irreparable harm to TNA’s business and profitability,” the lawsuit stated. “WWE now knows the confidential details of
TNA’s business affairs, including its marketing and business strategy and analysis, which leaves TNA vulnerable to WWE’s
unfair position in the market.”

No other talent is listed in the lawsuit. Matt Morgan, whose number of dates has either just come due or is about to, and hasn’t
been used of late doing an injury angle, said in a Pro Wrestling Torch interview that he had received feelers from WWE. He said
he was happy in TNA, but that he was a business man and would consider ifWWE made a better offer.
Patrick Martin, 29 (Alex Shelley), who is leaving TNAwhen his contract expires, has, according to sources close to Martin,
received phone calls from WWE. Reports of him signing with WWE or even agreeing to terms are said by those sources to be
premature and had nothing to do with him allowing his contract to expire. His original plans when he decided against renewing
his contract with TNAwere to work with New Japan in the junior heavyweight division, a deal he had been negotiating for, and
maybe Dragon Gate USA. But recently,WWE did show interest. He was not expecting that to happen when he let his contract
expire and we’ve had confirmations he was close to a deal with New Japan when the WWE called.
With the temporary restraining order, as well as the ongoing lawsuit, that would likely hold up WWE going after any TNA talent,
and hold up any potential deal with Flair, who most expected was trying to get out of his TNA contract to return to an affiliation
with WWE.

McDevitt said the company had no indication any legal action was coming, and noted that theywere the ones who contacted
TNA to let them know about the issue, and that they fired Wittenstein.
The lawsuit also claimed, “In order to injure TNA and gain a competitive advantage,WWE intentionally interfered with TNA’s
contractual relationship with Ric Flair and maliciously used the trade secrets and confidential information provided by
Wittenstein to approach Ric Flair.”

Flair had been the center of legal issues only a few weeks earlier, as lawyers from both sides had reached an agreement that
allowed Flair to appear at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and in the new WrestleMania DVD release. McDevitt said that he
believed nothing having to do with that played a part in this lawsuit.

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A few more notes regarding TNA’s lawsuit with WWE. Brian Wittenstein is the person implicated the most in this. The idea is he took TNA trade secrets, long-term business plans and business info as well as all TNA contract info and gave it to WWE which led to, at least based on the claim in the suit, Ric Flair giving notice and wanting to go to WWE. Wittenstein was described as a big fan who used to drive Billy Gunn to the matches. When he worked at TNA, he was described as one of the few people in the company who really cared, in the sense if you asked him a question, he’d have an answer quickly, or if you wanted something done, he’d do his best to get it done as quickly as possible, which is not the case for a lot of TNA workers. However, he was described as not playing the political game well, talking too much and rubbing people the wrong way even though he probably had no idea he was doing so.

He cared a lot but would never stop talking. One person noted he rubbed people the wrong way because he talked like an insider even though his time in the business was not long and it rubbed those who had been around a long time the wrong way. Those in TNA, even those who liked him, have no defense because of the idea he was giving trade secrets to WWE. One person who has been around wrestling forever noted when discussing this suit that the idea of hiring someone who knows all the contract info of your rival promotion has been going on in wrestling since the beginning of time.

Granted, there’s a difference between knowledge in your head and actually presenting the computer discs, but it was noted when WCW hired J.J. Dillon in the late 90s, a large part of the reason is Dillon negotiated so many of the contracts and knew everyone’s deal. The belief when TNA tried to hire Jim Ross when his contract was due was because of Ross’ knowledge of the talent, but again, bringing the actual discs and presenting them is a completely different level. TNA’s main claim in the suit regards the signing of Ric Flair, and as noted, Flair is close with HHH, John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon, and if you saw the Hall of Fame, it was pretty clear he was looking to get back at some point. So trying to prove tampering with Flair and used proprietary information as a way to convince him to quit, when Flair has been best friends with HHH for years, seems like the wrong guy.

The one thing the suit can do is slow down signing a Flair or a Shelley or anyone else whose contract is due that at another time WWE may have pursued. The WWE’s version of what happened is that it was not three weeks between when Wittenstein was fired and TNA was contacted. They listed 4/27 as the date of his termination, and 5/3 as the date when Bruce Prichard was called. They claimed Prichard told them to contact Crede Williams, the TNA attorney, who they called on 5/4, but it wasn’t until 5/7 that Williams called them back. It was 5/9 when Flair told TNA he wanted to leave. WWE asked for a continuance regarding the hearing schedule for 6/11 in Knoxville, noting they needed more time for work on the case. TNA was trying to get John Laurinaitis and Paul Levesque in for questioning and that’s the date of a three-hour Raw so it wasn’t going to work.

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Jerry McDevitt’s arguments on 6/8 got the Tennessee court to remove the temporary restraining order TNA had gotten on WWE
regarding interference with talent contracts. The specific order barred WWE from using any information provided to them on
discs from Brian Wittenstein regarding TNA talent and contracts. TNA claimed when they got the order on 5/24 thatWWE was
interfering in its existing contracts and attempting to get them to breach their contracts.When asked in the hearing, the only
name TNA could come up with in papers to support the order was Ric Flair. Flair is apparently no longer under a TNA contract,
as he hasn’t been paid by TNA on his contract. Flair quit he promotion on around 5/9 and stopped showing up to events, and
after quitting, had his contract terminated by the company before they even filed the lawsuit according to the WWE side. McDevitt
said WWE has not and will not use any of the information provided byWittenstein, who WWE fired in late April after they claim he
offered them the confidential information he got from working in TNA. McDevitt also said that the only copy of the information that
WWE had has already been returned to TNA. The TNA lawsuit againstWWE looks like it will have one temporary effect, which is
that talentWWE may have been interested in from TNA will not get offers. McDevitt filed legal papers which stated thatWWE has
not attempted to get Flair to leave TNA and join WWE, nor have theymade any contract offer to Flair, nor do they have any
intention of doing so. He also wrote thatWWE has no interest in any TNA talent, and thus no restraining order is appropriate. It
should be noted that Alex Shelley’s contract had already expired and he’s a free agent, so technically, he is not TNA talent, but
this still could affect decisions made byWWE on hiring him just because the suit is still ongoing, and could also affect hiring
Flair as long as the lawsuit is alive since Flair is the one specifically named in the suit. If there would have been interest in Matt
Morgan, whose contract was coming due and has openly said he wanted to stay in TNA but would listen to a WWE offer and
that he’s gotten word they are interested, well, it may be bad timing for him.

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