The WWE WrestleMania 38 fan lawsuit was dismissed on Tuesday.
As PWMania.com previously reported in February, a man named Marvin Jackson filed a lawsuit against WWE on January 12 before the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, alleging that he lost hearing in his left ear while an “invitee” at WrestleMania 38 from AT& Stadium in Dallas in 2022, as a result of a pyrotechnics blast that was part of the WWE production. Jackson sought a jury trial and monetary relief in excess of $1 million, including general damages, penalties, costs, expenses, prejudgment interest, and attorney’s fees. On February 17, WWE requested that the lawsuit be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. You can read our previous report on Jackson’s claim by clicking here.
In a recent update, U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, siding with WWE’s February request that the plaintiff’s claim be moved to arbitration.
The judge issued his nine-page ruling in response to the terms and conditions agreed to as part of admission to WrestleMania 38.
Jackson went to WrestleMania 38 with his nephew, Ashton Mott, who bought the tickets as a surprise birthday gift for his uncle. Mott paid with his phone and accepted multiple acknowledgements stating that certain disputes with released parties, including WWE, must be resolved through arbitration. Judge Pittman ruled that Mott’s consent to those agreements can bind Jackson, despite the fact that Jackson had no notice of them.
“The answer is a resounding ‘Yes!,'” Pittman wrote in response to whether Jackson could be bound by the terms of admission to the event. Wrestlenomics adds that in his ruling, Judge Pittman cited case law, including one that stated, “It is not necessary that [a ticket user] have actual knowledge of such conditions or limitations or that [their] attention be called to them. Moreover, it is well established that [a ticket user] has accepted a ticket and received notice of its contents even though a [ ] companion receives and holds the [user’s] ticket.”
Jackson’s attorneys had requested an oral hearing before the court to argue their case, but the request was denied.
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means Jackson cannot re-file it in the same court. Jackson must now enter into arbitration with WWE in order to obtain some sort of legal resolution.
