Hulk Hogan (Hoke Hogan to the Ultimate Warrior) vs. Gawker may have finally reached an end,
Gawker founder Nick Denton posted at length about it today and here’s a nugget of it:
After four years of litigation funded by a billionaire with a grudge going back even further, a settlement has been reached. The saga is over.
That billionaire with a grudge is none other than Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder. Thiel has a hate-hate relationship with the website and things got real. Back in May, a Florida Jury awarded Hogan $140.1 million dollars and Thiel helped fund a defamation case against them. No official amount has been released, but the figure $31M kept appearing during initial court filings.
Lordsofpain.net reported:
In exchange for a vastly reduced payment to Hogan, Gawker must remove the original story, which doesn’t sit well with Denton. He noted that the most “unpalatable” part of the settlement is being forced to remove the story from the web because it’s a true story, whether it’s “newsworthy” or not.
Hogan’s lawyer, David Houston, said, “All parties have agreed it’s time to move on.”