Matt Riddle & WWE Lawsuit Status Update

As noted before, Matt Riddle’s sexual abuse accuser, Candy Cartwright, filed a lawsuit last month against Riddle, former EVOLVE owner Gabe Sapolsky, EVOLVE, and WWE. In her lawsuit, Cartwright claims that Riddle sexually abused her and that the other defendants listed were complacent in the matter. Cartwright is currently seeking $10 million from each defendant for economic damages and legal fees.

HeelByNature.com reported that court documents filed on November 17th included several consent forms from Riddle, Sapolsky, and WWN owner Salem Hamaoui in order to try to move the lawsuit case from a municipal to a federal court instead. These forms reportedly were done at the request of WWE, who needed the defendants’ consent in order to try to move the case.

It was reported that the reason for WWE’s attempt to move the case to a different court level is due to what they feel would be bigger benefits that the defendants would receive from a federal court compared to a municipal court for a civil trial.

Moving the case from municipal to federal court can benefit to defendants. According to Law.com, moving a case to federal court provides “a potentially greater chance of winning a motion to dismiss or summary judgment motion, and a more structured discovery format under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”