Oliver Luck originally started his lawsuit against his former boss Vince McMahon in April of 2020. A lot has happened since then. Litigation over access to an iPhone, the signing of a player that may or may not have been kosher, even a countersuit.
But now, we have some real movement. The presiding judge, Victor Bolden, according to a Yahoo Sports report, narrowed the lawsuit’s scope through more than a dozen pretrial rulings last Friday. The jury trial date is now March 7, 2022, instead of Oct. 8, 2021.
Since the case began, after McMahon relieved Luck of his duties before filing for bankruptcy, Judge Bolden has heard a multitude of motions about which case was stronger, which needed more help with evidence, who had – possibly – been withholding evidence, and so on.
One of the biggest moves the judge made was dismissing Luck’s claim that he was owed his entire 5-year salary. Instead, Judge Bolden said that since Alpha hadn’t moved to dismiss Luck’s breach of contract claim. And until they do, the judge will go on the belief that Luck was terminated “for cause,” not that Alpha acted in bad faith.
Judge Bolden determined the data obtained from the iPhone isn’t protected, fit was used in an alleged violation of the XFL’s technology policy. The iPhone is a crucial part of Alpha’s case, but while Judge Bolden tries to understand how its contents help or hurt either side, he would determine its importance at trial, if it came to that.
Alpha also has to produce other alleged employees who may have used their XFL-owned devices for personal reasons. This was so a pattern might be noticed, if most staff used their iPhones for non-XFL business, then it would help Luck’s case.
While a trial date has been moved, it’s likely so the sides can discuss some sort of settlement, before actually appearing before a jury.
