Earlier today, Judge Mia R. Perez of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that the lawsuit between Kevin Kelly, the Tate Twins, and AEW will be moved to a court in Florida.
Judge Mia R. Perez issued the following order today:
AND NOW, on this 21st day of November, 2024, upon consideration of Defendants’ Omnibus Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint for Improper Venue or, in the Alternative, Transfer Venue, or Compel Arbitration and Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint (ECF No. 11), and the response thereto, it is hereby ORDERED that said Motion is GRANTED to the extent it seeks to transfer venue. This case is hereby transferred to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Previously, All Elite Wrestling had argued that due to the language of their contracts, all legal proceedings for Kelly and the Tate Twins should be litigated in Florida, where AEW is headquartered.
Judge Perez agreed, saying:
“The public interest factors support transfer to the Middle District of Florida. Consolidating all claims in one venue would avoid duplicative trials, streamline discovery, and promote consistent outcomes. Further, although Pennsylvania has an interest in disputes involving its residents, Florida’s interest in matters related to Defendant All Elite Wresting, LLC’s (AEW) business practices and contractual relationships supports transfer. Indeed, the parties agree that Florida law governs the instant contract dispute. As such, the public interest factors favor transferring the case to the Middle District of Florida.
Because Defendant Riccaboni is not a signatory to the Arbitration Agreement, the Court must assess the private interest factors as they relate to him. Although Plaintiffs have chosen Pennsylvania as their forum, “the plaintiff’s choice is not necessarily decisive, particularly where the central facts of the lawsuit did not occur in the plaintiff’s chosen forum.” Halpern, 2024 WL 453370, at *9. As discussed above, most of the claims stem from a contract that was negotiated, drafted, and terminated in Florida. And because Defendant Riccaboni’s statements were made on social media, “it cannot be said that a substantial part of the events occurred in one location or the other[.]” Id. As for Defendant Riccaboni’s forum preference, he aligns with all other Defendants in preferring Florida due to his contractual relationship and defense agreement with Florida-based AEW. D.E. 11 at 15–16. While Plaintiffs argue that damages witnesses are in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, and Plaintiff Foote and Defendant Riccaboni are in Pennsylvania, the preponderance of witnesses and records are based in Jacksonville, Florida. Therefore, any relative inconvenience in Plaintiff Foote travelling to Florida is offset by the benefit of litigating the case with the remaining parties in Florida. Taken together, both the public and private interest factors weigh in favor of transfer.”
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