TAMPA — A U.S. District Court has granted motion for leave to conduct limited jurisdictional discovery in a case involving World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The dispute over jurisdiction is between plaintiff Donald Anderson and WWE. Anderson filed in state court, but WWE filed to move it to federal court.
“Based on the record evidence, there can be no dispute that this court cannot exercise general jurisdiction over WWE since WWE is not ‘at home’ in Florida. Whether the court can exercise specific jurisdiction over WWE, however, is less clear,” Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone wrote in the court decision.
Anderson claims that WWE does business in Florida, which gives the court jurisdiction.
“Mr. Anderson further alleges ‘WWE has sufficient minimum contacts with the state of Florida, has its nerve center in Florida, and is essentially at home in Florida’ and lists examples of WWE’s actions in an attempt to support this statement,” the court decision stated.
In support of its case, WWE filed an affidavit from its VP of digital development stating its home was in Connecticut. In addition, it noted that the incident the case stems from occurred in Virginia.
However, the court document stated that Anderson claims the Virginia incident resulted from the organization’s activities in Florida.
“If WWE’s actions in Florida are as alleged, that may give rise to this court exercising specific jurisdiction over WWE without offending the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the facts necessary for this court to exercise specific personal jurisdiction are in dispute, Eleventh Circuit precedent favors permitting discovery,” Judge Sansone wrote.
“Mr. Anderson requests permission to take limited jurisdictional discovery so he may challenge WWE’s evidence and obtain other evidence to support the amended complaint’s jurisdictional allegations.”
The court decision was issued on March 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.