The lawsuits that WWE and trading card giant Panini had filed against each other have been ended permanently.
Last week, court documents came to light showing that WWE President Nick Khan spoke with representatives of Panini over Zoom on October 3 and again on November 14.
The two companies then exchanged settlement proposals and reached an agreement in principle.
As intellectual property lawyer Paul Lesko explained on social media, the judge involved immediately dismissed the cases, “without prejudice”, meaning that they could be reopened in future.
Panini and WWE then sent a letter to the court, asking for the case to be revisited briefly so that it could be dismissed “with prejudice”, closing the book for good on the matter.
Yesterday, and as expected, Panini and WWE finally informed the court they settled their issues against each other…and asked the court to dismiss the action WITH PREJUDICE meaning the case will be dead dead dead. pic.twitter.com/CpIv7L3KC6
— Paul Lesko (@Paul_Lesko) November 22, 2023
The court document shared on Wednesday by Lesko states:
Panini S.p.A. (“Panini”) and World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC (f/k/a World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) (“WWE”), through their respective counsel, hereby stipulate and agree that all claims and causes of action asserted by Panini against WWE in the above- captioned action and by WWE against Panini in S.D.N.Y. Case No. 23-CV-8371-LGS are dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Each party shall bear its own costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees.
The two companies inked an agreement in 2021 that meant Panini was the sole producer of WWE trading cards.
The agreement went awry when WWE announced its intention to get out of the remaining years on its deal and move its business to Fanatics, citing a breach of contract by Panini.
Panini argued that it had held up its end of the original deal and had been blindsided by WWE’s attempt to end the contract.
