In 2016, Hulk Hogan, the professional wrestler, won a nine-figure lawsuit that ultimately bankrupted Gawker Media, a fleet of sites that epitomized the barbed brilliance of New York's young media crowd.Feb 23, 2018
$100 millionHulk Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for invasion of privacy for publicly releasing a sex tape that involved Hogan and his friend's wife.
The Hogan case, which resulted in a $140 million judgment against Gawker, and the other two cases were financed by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel. He had been outed as gay nine years ago by the media organization.Nov 2, 2016
A collection of Gawker Media sites that did not include Gawker.com was sold to Univision in 2016 for $135 million. Mr. Denton departed, and the flagship site shut down. Bryan Goldberg, the chief executive of Bustle Digital Group, paid $1.35 million for the Gawker name at a bankruptcy auction in 2018.Jul 28, 2021
On August 18, 2016, Gawker Media announced that its namesake blog would be ceasing operations the following week. Its other websites were unaffected, and continued to be run by Univision. Founder Nick Denton created the site's final post on August 22, 2016....Gawker.Type of siteBlogLaunched2002Current statusActive6 more rows
Peter ThielFaced with a $140 million judgment in the invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by Hogan over the publication of a video that showed him having sex with a friend's wife â and the later revelation that Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was financing the lawsuit and others against the company â ...Nov 3, 2016
5.2Â billion USD (2022)Peter Thiel / Net worth
Hulk Hogan Net WorthFull NameTerry Gene BolleaAge (2022)68 YearsResidenceClearwater, Florida, US; Beverly Hills, California, USHulk Hogan's Net worth (2022)$25 millionSource of wealthProfessional wrestling, acting, music3 more rowsâ˘Jan 3, 2022
In one motion, the company sought to throw out the jury verdict, arguing that "key evidence was wrongly withheld" and the jury instructions on the constitutional standards for newsworthiness were improper.
On June 10, 2016, Gawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale. Denton personally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 1. Univision Communications bought Gawker Media's assets for $135 million at a bankruptcy auction on August 16, 2016.
The trial lasted two weeks. During the trial, Gawker argued that Bollea made his sex life a public matter, although on cross-examination, when asked by Bollea's lawyer whether a depiction of his genitalia had any "news value," former Gawker editor AJ Daulerio responded "no".
The sale to Univision included six Gawker websitesâ Deadspin, Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Kotaku and Lifehacker âwhich were not involved with the publication of the Bollea materials. The sale did not include the continued operations of the flagship Gawker website.
Bollea sought $100 million in damages. In March 2016, the jury found Gawker Media liable and awarded Bollea $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. Three months after the verdict, Gawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale.
On March 18, 2016, the jury delivered a verdict in favor of Bollea. The jury awarded him $115 million in compensatory damages, which included $60 million for emotional distress. The jury awarded Bollea an additional $25 million in punitive damages on March 21.
Bollea sought $100 million in damages.
May 10, 2016 : Harder files a lawsuit in Massachusetts against Gawker on behalf of Shiva Ayyadurai, who alleges that the website defamed him when journalist Sam Biddle wrote an article in 2012 for Gawker-owned Gizmodo, challenging Ayyadurai's claims that he invented email.
Huon is an attorney and represents himself in the case. January 2016 : Gawker executives, led by founder Nick Denton, agree to sell a minority stake in the company to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and his company, Columbus Nova Technology Partners.
March 18, 2016 : A Florida jury awards Hulk Hogan with a $115 million judgment after finding that Gawker invaded the former wrestler's privacy. That amount is later bolstered by an additional $25 million for punitive damages for a total of $140 million.
The deal would mark the first time the company has taken outside investment. Gawker later says the money was used, in part, to defend itself from ongoing litigation. Denton tells FORBES that, if not for the slew of lawsuits he's up against, the company would be profitable.
Hogan's lawsuit would drag on in court for more than three years, drawing lots of media attention. February 7, 2013 : A plaintiff in an eventual class action lawsuit against Gawker signs a retainer agreement with Harder to have the lawyer work on his behalf in a case involving unpaid interns.
May 25, 2016 : Peter Thiel explains his reasoning for funding Hulk Hogan's case, along with others brought against Gawker (he declined to name them), in an interview with the New York Time.
Regardless, those close to Thiel tell FORBES the story left a mark, and that it was likely part of his motivation for going after Gawker in court. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Thiel says "Gawker has been a singularly terrible bully.".
The actual malice standard basically says, âOK, you do have defamation but thereâs an additional standard that needs to be overcome if youâre a public figure.ââ. Nick Denton, founder of Gawker, clashed with Terry Bollea, AKA Hulk Hogan, before the site declared bankruptcy. Photograph: Pool/Reuters.
Since the Hogan verdict, Harderâs list of influential clients has been growing. He was hired by Amber Heard to sue the comedian Doug Stanhope after he wrote online that the actress was blackmailing her estranged husband Johnny Depp, whom she had accused of spousal abuse.
He was hired by the former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to challenge negative media coverage in New York magazine over sexual harassment allegations against him by his former colleagues, a partnership that led to one Forbes writer dubbing Harder âthe rich manâs favourite tool for assaulting journalismâ.
Sometimes when people lie and lie, they become emboldened that they can get away with anything, and then they tell bigger and bigger lies against various people, some of whom can afford to bring an action. The takeaway is that news organisations need to be responsible, just like lawyers, doctors, and teachers.â.
The only reason the Mail published a retraction, Harder maintains, was to try to minimise damages that it could be held responsible for, âbut I think the end result will be they will be held accountable for all of the damages that they causedâ.
The case wasnât entirely black and white, and controversy abounded when it emerged that Bolleaâs lawsuit was actually funded by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire and co-founder of PayPal, who had had his own issues with Gawker in the past after the site published an article about his sexuality.
Mr Thiel just happened to pay Hulk Hoganâs costs, but that doesnât take away from the merits of the case. Gawker had violated his privacy, violated the law, and a jury ruled in his favour. Thatâs why the case ended up the way that it did.â. Since the Hogan verdict, Harderâs list of influential clients has been growing.
Nick Dentonâs Gawker.com is closing after parent company Gawker Media was purchased by Univision. While fans mourn the loss of their favorite gossip site, several past victims are probably celebrating.
There was a time, eons ago, when one simple declarative sentence could prick up ears all over Hollywood, and sometimes send shivers of fear and loathing down the whole townâs spine. It usually began something like, âEntertainment Weekly is doing a story onâŚâ
Bollea originally sued Gawker for copyright infringement in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, seeking a temporary injunction. Bollea's lawyer was Charles Harder. U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore denied Bollea's motion, ruling that the validity of the copyright was in question, and that given the degree to which Bollea had already put his own private life into the public arena, the publication of the video might be protected by fair use.
In 2006, Bollea was videotaped while having sex with Heather Clem; at trial he claimed that the videotaping was without his knowledge or consent. On The Howard Stern Show, Hogan told Sternthat he had slept with Heather with Bubba Clem's blessing and his encouragement because he was so burnt-out from the trauma of his coming divorce that he finally gave in to the "relentless" come-ons from Heather who "kept going down that road." Bollea said that he knew that Clem haâŚ
The six-person jury consisted of four women and two men. The trial lasted two weeks. During the trial, Gawker argued that Bollea made his sex life a public matter, although on cross-examination, when asked by Bollea's lawyer whether a depiction of his genitalia had any "news value," former Gawker editor AJ Daulerio responded "no". Bollea said that comments made in interviews were done in his professional wrestling character, an on-air persona different from his own. The court âŚ
Gawker CEO Nick Denton said the company would appeal the verdict. In early April 2016, Gawker Media filed two post-trial motions in the trial court. In one motion, the company sought to throw out the jury verdict, arguing that "key evidence was wrongly withheld" and the jury instructions on the constitutional standards for newsworthiness were improper. In another motion, Gawker argued that even if the verdict stands, the amount of damages should be greatly reduced, arguinâŚ
⢠Celebrity sex tape