In an interview with the New York Times in May 2016, Thiel said of his financing of Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker: “I would underscore that I don’t expect to make any money from this. In the wake of that settlement, Gawker's lead bankruptcy lawyer, Gregg Galardi, asked the judge for permission to investigate Thiel for financing litigation for the sole purpose of putting Gawker out of business.
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Last fall, Gawker - which declared bankruptcy and sold its assets to Univision after losing a lawsuit to Hogan - settled with the former professional wrestler for $31 million. In his opinion, Judge Bernstein partially sided with the administrator of the Gawker estate, arguing that he had “shown good cause for the Thiel-related discovery.” However, previous settlement agreements between the Gawker estate, Thiel, and Charles Harder - the lawyer who Thiel paid to represent Hogan in his invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker - ”impose substantial limitations” on what can be investigated, the judge said. In May 2016, Forbes revealed that Thiel, who despised Gawker for writing about his sexual orientation, had been secretly footing Hogan's legal bills. Hogan began his legal battle against Gawker Media in 2012, after the organization's flagship site published a sex tape of the wrestler and a friend's wife. Wednesday’s ruling was seen as one of the last puzzle pieces in a bizarre case that some experts believe will have lasting implications on the rights of the free press in the US.
New York-based bankruptcy judge Stuart Bernstein submitted an opinion that potentially allows for the estate of Gawker Media to explore - with limited scope - how venture capitalist Peter Thiel secretly funded lawsuits on behalf of wrestler Hulk Hogan.
The years-long legal saga involving a New York media company, a former professional wrestler, a sex tape, and a Silicon Valley billionaire appears to be moving forward, based on a US bankruptcy court ruling on Wednesday.