Janel Grant’s attorneys pushed back in court today, as expected, against Dr. Carlon Colker’s motion to dismiss her petition to obtain medical records.
Grant initiated the petition in Connecticut Superior Court in July, alleging that Vince McMahon directed her to seek treatment at Colker’s Peak Wellness clinic. There, Grant says, she was prescribed pills and I.V. infusions that weren’t identified to her. She also alleges that an unnamed employee from the clinic participated in sexual assault against her, along with McMahon, which was one of many incidents of sexual assault Grant described in her federal lawsuit filed in January against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis. McMahon has denied allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking that are raised against him in the suit.
Grant says Colker hasn’t cooperated with her requests to obtain her complete medical records. The petition could eventually lead to a civil lawsuit against Colker and his clinic, under a number of claims.
Grant’s attorneys noted: “Ms. Grant filed this bill of discovery for the purpose of investigating potential claims of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, fraud, assault, battery, RICO, RICO conspiracy, and/or breach of fiduciary duty against Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness.”
They’re also trying to learn more about Colker’s purported role in recommending an attorney, Jonathan M. Shapiro, who provided legal services for Colker in the past and worked with Grant in negotiating the nondisclosure agreement that she made with McMahon in early 2022.
“Imagine being at your most vulnerable, and the doctor you are told to see only makes you feel worse,” Grant’s lawyer Ann Callis said in a new written statement on Tuesday. “Our filing today makes clear that Dr. Colker violated ethical and medical standards when he injected unknown substances into Janel’s body and directed her to take unlabeled pills while dismissing her basic questions about those drugs. Peak Wellness owes Janel Grant answers and the clinic’s secrecy and evasion must come to an end.”
Frank Silvestri of the Verrill Dana law firm issued a response when POST Wrestling reached out, on behalf of his clients:
As counsel for Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness, we can confirm that Ms. Grant and her counsel have long-since received Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records in accordance with the law. Any statement by Ms. Grant and her counsel that indicates otherwise is simply untrue.
In addition to the filing, Grant’s legal and PR team held a press call on Tuesday morning to bring further attention to her case. Attorneys Callis and Erica Nolan provided additional remarks and took questions from the media.
The outreach to media signals Grant’s team’s continued effort to seek accountability from McMahon, WWE, and others named in the allegations, with Tuesday’s focus on Colker and his clinic.
AUDIO: Press call this morning with representatives of Janel Grant following their opposition to Dr. Carlon Colker's motion to dismiss her petition to obtain medical records from Colker and his clinic, Peak Wellness.
Grant alleges she was directed by Vince McMahon to get… pic.twitter.com/WZWutw3z31
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) October 15, 2024
“Janel was desperate for medical help, and she trusted licensed professionals to approach her care with the utmost seriousness,” Callis said on the call. “Dr. Colker instead violated ethical and medical standards and routinely broke the doctor-patient trust integral to proper treatment.”
During the press briefing, Nolan stressed the importance of the records in uncovering whether Colker was involved in McMahon’s alleged coercive control over Grant.
“We believe Dr. Colker is withholding Janel’s medical and billing records because they may prove that he and Peak Wellness were involved in McMahon’s abuse, exploitation, and violence against Janel,” Nolan said.
The attorneys aren’t ruling out further legal action against Colker or others connected to Peak Wellness, including potential civil conspiracy and RICO claims.
“We aim to hold all parties accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Nolan said, “assuring those who created, perpetuated, concealed, and benefited from Janel’s abuse never have the opportunity to hurt anyone else.”
Callis described how McMahon paid for Grant’s visits to Peak Wellness from November 22, 2019, through April 15, 2022, That timeline indicates that Grant continued to visit the clinic after she and McMahon signed the nondisclosure agreement that ended her employment at WWE and was intended to prevent Grant from speaking out against McMahon or WWE.
“Janel has been asking for those records and for the message history between Dr. Colker and McMahon regarding her since February,” Callis added, referencing what Grant’s team says is an ongoing struggle to get Grant’s medical records that she’s entitled to.
The press call is the second in as many months, after Grant’s representatives spoke with media ahead of the release of the Netflix docuseries, “Mr. McMahon”.
It also follows a letter from Callis last week when she called on WWE, McMahon, and Laurinaitis to waive any nondisclosure agreements they may be a party to so that any other former WWE employees or contractors can come forward with allegations of misconduct they may have been subjected to while working for the company.
Based on reporting from The Wall Street Journal in 2022, there are at least three other unnamed women who formerly worked for WWE who made NDAs with McMahon. That doesn’t include an agreement between McMahon and former WWF referee Rita Chatterton, who alleges McMahon raped her in 1986, finalized in late 2022. McMahon says their encounter with Chatterton was consensual.
Grant’s federal lawsuit against WWE, McMahon, and Laurinaitis is currently on hold through December 11 due to a federal criminal investigation from U.S. Attorneys in the Southern District of New York. The Journal reported in February that prosecutors from the same district that more recently indicted Sean Combs and New York Mayor Eric Adams, are investigating sexual assault and sex trafficking claims against Vince McMahon.
“Janel would like to expedite all proceedings as quickly as possible and welcomes the possibility of additional charges from federal prosecutors,” Nolan added.
