Page 9 - Gawker

He further contended that Gawker's central defense in the

case was that Hogan's sex tape was legitimately

newsworthy, and thus, publishing it should be protected by

the First Amendment.

In summation Michael Sullivan, Gawker’s lawyer, tried to use

the First Amendment as a basis of argument.

“In this country, it has long been clear that where a person joins
in an ongoing conversation, even one about sex, that speech is

protected,” he said. “Otherwise, we would become a nation

where powerful celebrities, politicians, and public figures will

use our courts to punish people for saying things that they
frankly do not like. And we will all be worse off as a result.” (10)

However, in March 2016, after a few hours of deliberation,
the jury returned and awarded Hogan $115m in damages.

Subsequently, a further $25.1 million for punitive damages

was also awarded to Hogan.

If Gawker wished to make an appeal then they were ordered

to post a $50m bond. This they could not do and

consequently Gawker Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

protection whilst Denton declared personal bankruptcy.

At the time of the court case it was not known that Bollea

had a secret benefactor, Peter Thiel, paying about $10
million for the lawsuit.