Hogan also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order to have the video removed. Hulk Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for invasion of privacy for publicly releasing a sex tape that involved Hogan and his friend’s wife. Listen to David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR, speak with the BBC about how the longstanding friction between Thiel and Gawker motivated him to fund Hogan in his suit against the site. According to Forbes, Thiel had said numerous times that the case was not about the extent of the First Amendment, but rather about an individual’s right to privacy. Thiel’s lawyers said that his involvement in lawsuits against Gawker were brought, in part, because of an economic interest, despite the fact that Thiel had stated previously that the it was not a business venture.
GAWKER SETTLEMENT SERIES
Thiel was the subject of a series of Gawker articles that outed him as gay, and that the disclosure was “very painful.” Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire, secretly backed Hogan giving him $10 million for the lawsuit. Gawker Media has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Hulk Hogan, according to multiple reports, ending a years-long legal battle waged against it with the partial support of tech. Why is Silicon Valley Billionaire Peter Thiel involved? Hogan was awarded $140 million in total damages. The jury found that Gawker violated Hogan’s privacy, and that he suffered emotional distress.
GAWKER SETTLEMENT TRIAL
Gawker: A Guide to the Trial for the Perplexed Berlin of Levine Sullivan, Koch and Schulz This is a crucial issue not only for Gawker, but for all media organizations.” –Gawker chief lawyer Seth D. “Gawker is defending its First Amendment right to join an ongoing conversation about a celebrity when others are talking about it and the celebrity is talking about it. The trial highlighted the tension between the right to privacy and the freedom of the press, and tested the limits of online press freedom. Hogan was the first witness to testify in his lawsuit against Gawker, telling the jury that he was “completely humiliated” by the the video going public, and that he was unaware that the encounter was being filmed. Gawker was forced to file for bankruptcy as a result of the jury ruling. Gawker will settle with Hulk Hogan for 31 million > Life Gawker has reached a settlement with Hulk Hogan, bringing to an end the legal battle that led to the demise of. 2016: Gawker & Hogan Reach SettlementĪfter four years of litigation, Gawker and Hogan reached a settlement, in which Hogan was to receive $31 million in cash and a share of the proceeds of Gawker’s sale. recovered in settlement or through collection of a damages award.
GAWKER SETTLEMENT PRO
And then, whatever is leftover will be shared pro rata by all the unsecured creditors, including Hulk Hogan.Nov. Gawker has appealed the ruling, and in an apparent effort to avoid paying Bollea. So the net proceeds of the sale, after the cost of the sale itself, will be distributed first to the secured creditors. “In the Gawker case, there are some secured creditors and there lots of unsecured creditors,” Bregman said. Moreover, Hogan would be regarded as an unsecured creditor - which would put him well behind those who supplied lines of credit and secured debt to Gawker Media. (If the company is sold for $100 million, a prorated share would be well short of $140 million.) “Bankruptcy provides a very helpful way to maximize the value of the assets.”īregman says there are a few steps that need to occur before Hogan sees any money from Gawker.įirst, he would have to win the appeal that Gawker has filed - where the size of the judgment could well be reduced even if the verdict is upheld.īut then the wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, would join what is likely a long list of Gawker’s creditors “entitled to his prorated share of the net proceed from the sale,” Bergman said. “You can’t simply buy a company and take all of its assets without taking its liabilities - unless it’s in bankruptcy,” Bregman said. That means the buyer purchases the assets and none of the obligations and liabilities associated with those assets travel to the buyer - like that whopping $140 million legal judgment.
GAWKER SETTLEMENT CODE
In a case like this, Gawker will be sold under section 363 of the bankruptcy code - which allows assets to be sold “free and clear of any and all claims and interests,” Bregman said. “The whole point of Chapter 11 is to keep viable business assets going,” Bregman said. For a company like Denton’s facing a huge potential liability in that $140 million legal judgment, bankruptcy may be the best means to keep the company from shutting down altogether.
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