STAMFORD Conn. January 27 2003 – World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. today said it would vigorously pursue recovering the cost of its settlement in the Owen Hart case from Lewmar Inc. the United Kingdom based manufacturer of the shackle clip whose premature release led to the accidental death of Owen Hart now that a Missouri Judge has said a settlement between Lewmar and Martha Hart (Plaintiff) was invalid because it was not in good faith and was done for an improper purpose.

The Honorable Douglas Long sitting by special appointment of the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the settlement between the Plaintiff and Lewmar for no money was conceived in a fraudulent manner. The judge said that there was overwhelming evidence in the record that "the Plaintiffs and/or Plaintiffs’ counsel and Lewmar engaged in fraud collusion and/or tortious conduct in negotiating executing and seeking approval" of Lewmar’s settlement with the Plaintiff.

The WWEÔ announced an $18 million settlement in November 2000 with the Plaintiff and then challenged the validity of the Lewmar release. The judge noted that Lewmar had $50 million in insurance coverage for damages arising from Owen Hart’s death. The judge said the failure of the Plaintiff’s legal firm Robb & Robb to recommend the Plaintiff demand payment for all or a significant portion of these funds from Lewmar was questionable and that "…substantial evidence exists that Plaintiffs’ counsel was motivated by a desire to prevent facts concerning Lewmar’s liability for this accident from coming to light in an effort to construct a punitive damages claim against WWE " the judge stated. If the release had been upheld by the Court the settlement between Lewmar and the Plaintiff would have prevented WWE from seeking redress against Lewmar for its role in the accident. WWE’s attorney Jerry McDevitt of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart said the company can now move forward with a case against Lewmar which is set for trial in September 2003.

"This order contained some of the strongest judicial statements I’ve seen in my 22 years of practice about a case which from the onset was tainted by irregularities " said McDevitt. "First attempts to manipulate the judicial selection process caused the Missouri Supreme Court to specially appoint Judge Long. Next we discovered Plaintiff and her counsel had entered into a written agreement to share the proceeds of any recovery with fact witnesses in the case. The propriety of that Agreement was about to be passed upon by the appellate courts of Missouri literally days before Plaintiff and her counsel decided to settle the case. When testimony was taken from Lewmar representatives in England no attempt was made by Plaintiff’s counsel to establish the factual basis for Lewmar’s responsibility and when we attempted to do so Plaintiff’s counsel actually objected to questions proving their liability. As soon as the deposition was over Plaintiff and her counsel announced they had released Lewmar from the case for no money even though Lewmar had offered to pay money. Now as a result of Judge Long’s ruling Lewmar will have to face up to its role in this tragedy and all that it did to avoid a decision on the merits."

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford Conn. with offices in New York Los Angeles Toronto and London and operates The WorldÒ an entertainment complex in Times Square New York City. Additional information on the company can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

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