ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–A jury has hit Gawker Media with $15 million in punitive damages and its owner with $10 million, adding to the $115 million it awarded last week for publishing a sex video of Hulk Hogan. That brings the total award for Hogan to $140 million.
Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a video of him having sex with his then-best friend’s wife. Hogan said he didn’t know he was being taped.
The jury returned its decision Monday. The six jurors were asked to consider the net worth of Gawker, its founder Nick Denton and former editor A.J. Daulerio. For the company, that’s $83 million (with $48.7 million in gross revenue), and for Denton the figure is $121 million. Daulerio has no assets, but owes $27,000 in student loans.
The $25 million in punitive damages was divided, with Gawker Media owing $15 million, and owner Nick Denton owing $10 million. A $100,000 judgement was also issued against A.J. Daulerio, the person who edited the video and wrote the accompanying article.
Gawker’s lawyer, Michael Berry, said the verdict returned last week will be “financially devastating” to Denton, and could bring “financial ruin” to Daulerio. The $115 million awarded to Hogan “exceeds the value of the entire company by $30 million,” Berry said. On Monday, he said because of the damages already awarded, “an additional punishment is unnecessary.” He called Friday’s verdict “debilitating” for the company.
Gawker has already said it would appeal.
Friday’s $115 million award was for economic harm and emotional distress. Monday’s award, in the words of Hogan attorney Kenneth Turkel, was to punish recklessness and to send a message to other media companies.
“Literally everything was done with a complete and reckless disregard and intent to harm this man,” he added, referring to Hogan.
Berry also told the jurors that their decision will have far reaching implications on the entire news media industry.
“Your verdict will send a chill down the spine of writers, producers and publishers throughout the country,” Berry said.
With additional reporting by CNN.
