Bollea v. Gawker
| Bollea v. Gawker | |
|---|---|
| Court | Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, Florida |
| 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 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Pamela A.M. Campbell |
Bollea v. Gawker was 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, for posting portions of 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, Bollea's lawyers said the privacy of many Americans was at stake while Gawker's lawyers said that the case could hurt freedom of the press in the United States.
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. Gawker Media's assets were subsequently sold to Univision Communications, who announced that they were closing gawker.com. On November 2, 2016, Gawker reached a $31 million settlement with Bollea.
In 2006, Bollea was having sex with Heather Clem while being videotaped; at trial he claimed that the videotaping was without his knowledge or consent. 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". Bollea said that he knew that Clem had "an alternative lifestyle" and that he had stopped by their house "just to say hello" when Heather tempted him. Bollea later testified: "I was depressed. I gave up and gave in. I felt that those people loved me."
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