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Photo A Florida jury assessed Gawker Media millions more in punitive damages on Monday for having invaded the privacy of the retired wrestler Hulk Hogan, adding to the $115 million it awarded in compensatory damages last week.
After a two-week trial in a St. Petersburg, Fla., courtroom, jurors ordered Gawker, an online news organization, and its two co-defendants to pay the 62-year-old former wrestler – addressed in court as Terry G. Bollea, his given name – more than $25 million in punitive damages.
Of the $115 million in compensatory damages the jury awarded Mr. Bollea last week, $55 million was for economic harm and $60 million for emotional distress, amounts that surprised legal and media analysts following the closely watched trial.
The England-born, Oxford-educated Mr. Denton is well off, with most of his $121 million net worth held as stock in Gawker’s parent company, the Gawker Media Group, which runs multiple websites.
The company is worth $276 million, the judge said, with revenue last year of $49 million.
Even though Gawker has said it would appeal the verdict, Florida law says that anyone appealing monetary damages must post a bond for the full amount, although the bond cannot be more than $50 million.