Bollea v. Gawker

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Terry Gene Bollea v. Clem
Seal of Florida.svg
Court Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, Florida[1]
Full case name Terry Gene Bollea, professionally known as Hulk Hogan, Plaintiff, v. Heather Clem; Gawker Media, LLC aka Gawker Media; Gawker Media Group, Inc. aka Gawker Media; Gawker Entertainment, LLC; Gawker Technology, LLC; Gawker Sales, LLC; Nick Denton; A.J. Daulerio; Kate Bennert, and Blogwire Hungary Szellemi Alkotast Hasznosito KFT aka Gawker Media, Defendants[2][1]
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Pamela A.M. Campbell[3]

Bollea v. Gawker is a Florida lawsuit in which Terry Gene Bollea, known professionally as Hulk Hogan, sued Gawker Media, publisher of the Gawker website, and several Gawker employees and Gawker-affiliated entities,[2] for posting a sex tape of Bollea with Heather Clem, at that time the wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge. Bollea's claims included invasion of privacy, infringement of personality rights, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Prior to trial, Hogan's lawyers claimed that the privacy of many Americans was at stake, and Gawker's lawyers asserted that the case could hurt freedom of the press in the United States.[4]

Hogan sought $100 million in damages.[5] In March 2016, the jury found Gawker Media liable and awarded Hogan $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.[6][7] Gawker CEO Nick Denton said the company would appeal the verdict.[8]

Background

In 2006, Hogan was having sex with Clem while being videotaped without his knowledge or consent.[9] On The Howard Stern Show, Hogan told Stern that 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". Hogan said that he knew Clems had "an alternative lifestyle" and that he had stopped by their house "just to say hello" when Heather tempted him.[10] Hogan later testified: "I was depressed. I gave up and gave in. I felt that those people loved me."[9]

Bubba testified that he burned the video to a DVD, wrote "Hogan" on it, and put it in a desk drawer.[11]

On October 4, 2012, Gawker editor AJ Daulerio published an extract from the video.[12]

In April 2013, Gawker announced that it would not comply with the circuit court order requiring the removal of the video because it deemed the order "risible and contemptuous of centuries of First Amendment jurisprudence." Gawker removed the video (but linked readers to another site hosting the video) and kept the post.[13]

Trial and verdict

The six-person jury consisted of four women and two men.[14] The trial lasted two weeks.[15] During the trial, the court was shown a taped deposition with AJ Daulerio, a former Gawker editor who said that there would be a public interest in promoting child pornography of the children of celebrities if they were over the age of four.[16] Daulerio later told the court he was being flippant in his response.[17]

On March 18, 2016, the jury delivered a verdict in favor of Hogan. The jury awarded him $115 million, which included $55 million in compensatory damages and $60 million for emotional distress. The jury awarded Hogan an additional $25 million in punitive damages on March 21.[7] Gawker CEO Nick Denton said the company would appeal the verdict.[8]

Aftermath

In early April 2016, Gawker Media filed two post-trial motions in the trial court.[18] 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.[18] In another motion, Gawker argued that even if the verdict stands, the amount of damages should be greatly reduced, arguing that the emotional damage award exceeded amounts found to be excessive in severe personal injury cases and that the economic damages were improperly calculated.[18][19] In late May 2016, the trial judge denied both motions.[20]

In May 2016, it was reported that Bollea had sued Gawker again, alleging that they were responsible for leaking sealed court documents that had quoted him using racial slurs. The transcripts were published by the National Enquirer and WWE subsequently fired him. Gawker denied being responsible for the leak.[21]

Billionaire Peter Thiel, founder of a hedge fund and a venture capital firm, is helping Hulk Hogan finance his lawsuit against Gawker Media. Gawker had published an article on Thiel, outing him in 2007.[22]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bollea v. Clem, et al., First Amended Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial (filed December 28, 2012).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Annie Youderian, Hulk Hogan Sues Gawker for $100M Over Sex Tape, Courthouse News Service (October 17, 2012).
  3. ↑ Anna M. Phillips, Trial judge in Hulk Hogan-Gawker case is most reversed in Pinellas, Tampa Bay Times (March 25, 2016).
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Steven Perlberg, Gawker Begins Appeal of $140 Million Hulk Hogan Verdict, Wall Street Journal (April 5, 2016).
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Rolfe Winkler & Steven Perlberg, Florida Judge Denies Gawker’s Motion for New Trial in Hulk Hogan Case, Wall Street Journal (May 25, 2016).
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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