Just weeks after Gawker Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put itself up for sale, Mr Denton has declared himself personally bankrupt. The move follows a $140m judgement against Gawker Media awarded to former professional wrestler Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). Mr Bollea secured the mammoth award earlier this year after a protracted legal battle with Gawker over the media company’s publication of a sex-tape involving Mr Bollea. The controversial lawsuit drew intense media scrutiny after it surfaced that PayPal billionaire and former Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer Peter Thiel had been underwriting Mr Bollea’s legal action against Gawker as well as several other lawsuits, allegedly motivated by a personal vendetta against the company.
Tricky roadblock
The bankruptcy petition filed by Mr Denton in New York on Monday effectively halts Mr Bollea’s attempts to collect damages from Gawker, as filing for bankruptcy puts a stay on claims from creditors, including court judgements. In a message to the New York Times, Mr Denton said that the bankruptcy filing had been a ‘likely outcome’ ever since the judgement against Gawker. ‘I don’t have that kind of money lying around. In fact, almost all of my net worth is tied up in the independent media business to which I have devoted my working life for the last 14 years,’ said Mr Denton in a statement on Monday. The Gawker founder has turned to Ilana Volkov of New Jersey firm Cole Schotz to advise on his bankruptcy filing.
Sources: New York Times; American Lawyer
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