An appeal filed by former commentator Kevin Kelly and The Tate Twins in their lawsuit against All Elite Wrestling has been dismissed by the U.S. Court of Appeals. The development in the ongoing legal dispute was reported on Wednesday by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that the original case had been stayed, or temporarily halted, rather than fully concluded. This procedural step follows a judge’s order in June that sent the matter to arbitration, at which point the case was administratively closed pending that process.
The lawsuit was initially filed in late August 2024 by Kelly and the twin brothers, Brandon and Brent Tate. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages for breach of contract and have made claims of defamation against AEW, CEO Tony Khan, and commentator Ian Riccaboni.
Kelly, who was released from the company in March 2024, alleges defamation connected to comments made by Riccaboni. The Tate Twins, released one month after Kelly in April 2024, base their claim on statements from Khan, who asserted they were fired for failing to appear at scheduled events. The brothers have countered that the incident resulted from a miscommunication with management regarding travel arrangements.
Beyond the specific claims, the legal action also sought to challenge the structure of AEW’s talent agreements. The suit requested that the court void the mandatory arbitration clause within their contracts and certify a class action lawsuit over the company’s classification of talent as independent contractors.