Vince McMahon has agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit brought against him by a former employee that accused him of rape.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Vince McMahon has settled a lawsuit with Rita Chatterton, the former WWF referee that accused him of raping her in 1986. According to the Journal, McMahon has agreed to a multimillion-dollar legal settlement with Chatterton, but it is a lesser amount than the $11.75 million in damages she initially asked for. The Journal was unable to determine the exact figure of the settlement.
McMahon’s lawyer, Jerry McDevitt, says McMahon still denies raping Chatterton but settled with her “solely to avoid the cost of litigation.” The Journal approached Chatterton for comment and she referred to her lawyer, who declined to speak on the matter.
Chatterton first made her allegations against McMahon public in 1992 during a few talk show appearances, but the story resurfaced last year after she was profiled by New York Magazine. Chatterton accused McMahon of raping her after a July 1986 WWF show in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Chatterton’s lawyer sent a legal demand to McMahon’s attorney in November 2022, weeks before a New York law allowing sex crime victims to file lawsuits outside of the normal statute of limitations came into effect. Chatterton will receive a lump sum payment up front, with other annual installments to follow. It was noted to the Journal that the arrangement was similar to McMahon’s previous agreements with other women he had hush pacts with.
Vince McMahon stepped away from WWE last summer after a number of allegations came to light, including Chatterton’s story re-emerging. McMahon officially returned to WWE on January 6 and announced he intended to help the company negotiate a new media rights deal and a potential sale. McMahon’s return resulted in other legal issues, as he’s currently being sued by a WWE shareholder and the Detroit Police And Fire Retirement System, who alleged McMahon violated his fiduciary duties to stockholders.
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