AEW’s legal fight with Ryan Nemeth has hit another snag, with the company now telling the court it believes Nemeth is actively avoiding being served. AEW asked for more time to complete the process, and that request has now been granted.
According to Brandon Thurston, AEW filed a request on September 3 asking to extend its deadline to serve Nemeth. The company argued that Nemeth has been evading service, preventing the case from moving forward normally.
Magistrate Judge Patricia Barksdale granted AEW’s requested extension on September 4. The judge also included a warning for Nemeth if he and his attorney are already keeping track of what is happening in the case. According to Thurston, Barksdale warned that Nemeth could ultimately be held responsible for expenses associated with the service process.
“In the event the defendant and his counsel are monitoring the docket,”
This comes as AEW continues trying to force its dispute with Nemeth into private arbitration in Florida. The company has argued that Nemeth’s wrestler contracts require disputes involving AEW to be handled through arbitration near Duval County, where the promotion is headquartered.
The problem is that those contracts have created a separate court fight of their own. In July, Barksdale rejected AEW’s attempt to keep Nemeth’s three wrestler contracts completely sealed. AEW was instead given the option of filing redacted versions and making another request to protect specific confidential information.
That left AEW with a choice. If it wants the contracts considered as part of its argument for arbitration, redacted versions have to make their way onto the public docket. If AEW withdraws them, the judge cannot rely on those contracts when deciding the arbitration issue.
None of this determines who is ultimately right in the underlying dispute between Nemeth, AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk. This development is much more immediate: AEW says it has been unable to serve Nemeth because he is avoiding the process, and the court has now given the company additional time to get it done.
The judge’s warning also gives Nemeth something else to consider. If he and his counsel are already following the case while AEW continues spending money trying to formally serve him, some of those costs could eventually come back his way.
What do you make of AEW claiming Ryan Nemeth is evading service, and do you think this legal fight is only going to get messier from here? Let us know in the comments.
