Civil Assault, Battery, & Negligence Lawsuit Against Jon Moxley & AEW Update – Judge Denies AEW’s Motion To Move Civil Lawsuit To Florida

As noted before, former contracted AEW production crew member Christopher Dispensa filed a lawsuit this past May against Jon Moxley and AEW over claims of Moxley had committed civil assault and battery and AEW had committed general negligence against him over an incident at an AEW Dynamite show in 2023. This lawsuit was notable for AEW’s motion to file information about its ownership under seal being denied by the court.

Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that Wayne County Judge Catherine Heise had issued a ruling on October 5 denying AEW and Moxley’s request to move the civil lawsuit to a Florida court.

Thurston reported that as a result of the ruling, the case will stay in Michigan, which is the location of the disputed incident involving Dispensa and AEW and Moxley.

In her ruling, Heise stated that the incident, the likely fact witnesses, and the arena are all in Detroit, and in fact, the courthouse is “within healthy walking distance” of the arena. Heise also wrote that medical witnesses who are in Florida can testify remotely and moving the case to a Florida court would present the problem of having an out-of-state court apply Michigan law to an injury that happened in Michigan.

In her ruling, Heise also stated that the defendants waited too long to make their request to move the case, which was nearly ten months after AEW had answered the complaint in September 2025. Heise also stated that despite the defendants stating they would not raise a three-year time-limit statute of limitations defense if the case was allowed to be litigated in Florida, she expressed concern that in that scenario the case might get thrown out regardless. Heise stated that she “is not confident that a Florida court would honor such an agreement or even an order so stating from a Michigan court.”

Thurston reported that a settlement conference with the court is currently scheduled to take place on December 22, 2026. Thurston also reported that the parties had met for an earlier settlement conference on July 29 and resulted in those discussions being “held for further settlement.”