The legal drama returned to the spotlight recently with the revelation that Thiel, whom Gawker outed as a homosexual in 2007, had funded Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker in an attempt to silence the site.
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The filing came Friday morning in NY federal court.
Earlier this year, Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain.
Ziff Davis, another United States media company, has reportedly already struck an agreement to buy Gawker in a bankruptcy auction.
Hulk Hogan, who filed the privacy lawsuit that ultimately led to Gawker’s bankruptcy filing, may not see any of his $100 million-plus judgment if Gawker’s other creditors have anything to say about it.
The bankruptcy Chapter 1 filing this week in Manhattan was due to the tough legal fight the company had with former wrestler Hulk Hogan. Some figures, such as billionaire Peter Thiel, have felt Gawker went too far in some instances. “Our sites will thrive – under new ownership – and we’ll win in court”, Denton said in a tweet.
In a memo to staff, Ziff Davis chief executive Vivek Shah said the auction will likely take place at the end of July and that he expected the bankruptcy court to set a schedule to take other bids soon.
Also on Friday, Gawker announced that it had reached an acquisition deal with media company Ziff Davis, though it might not necessarily be sold to the publisher if a higher bidder comes along.
To protect its assets from a very, very vengeful Hulk Hogan, Gawker Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“Authentic writing, whether it takes the form of honest reviews in technology, video games and entertainment, or revelations about the way the system works, is more important than ever”, Denton said.
Thiel and Gawker had been at odds for years. A Gawker-owned site, Valleywag, ran a number of stories skewering Facebook, which provided a big chunk of Thiel’s estimated $2.7 billion fortune.
Ryan Mac, a Forbes reporter, posted what appears to be a press release from Gawker saying that the bankruptcy process has begun. “They routinely relied on an assumption that victims would be too intimidated or disgusted to even attempt redress for clear wrongs. I don’t think anybody but Gawker would argue otherwise”.
Denton, for his part, has sought something of a truce with Thiel.
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“Peter, this is twisted”.
