Nick Denton, the CEO of Gawker Media, announced on Monday that he will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to prevent Hulk Hogan from seizing his assets.
Hogan was awarded $140 million by a Florida jury in March after he sued Gawker, Denton, and writer A.J. Daulerio over footage of a sex tape featuring the pro wrestler. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel — a man with deep pockets and a separate grudge against the online tabloid — financed Hogan’s litigation.
Gawker itself filed for Chapter 11 in June, and its assets will be auctioned off later this month. Daulerio will similarly file for personal bankruptcy. Denton posted briefly about the matter on Twitter this afternoon.
If historical precedent is anything to go by, the judgment will likely be reversed on appeal. Until then, however, Hogan is free to collect, which is why all of the defendants filed for Chapter 11. Three different courts denied Gawker and Denton’s attempt to stay the judgment until an appeals court addresses the case. If Denton needs money, he could always try to sell his blood to Thiel. He might be a little old, though.
