Hulk Hogan, Gawker, their respective legal teams and the jurors who last week award Hogan $115 million returned to the courtroom today to award punitive damages, if any, to Hogan.
In her instructions to the jury, Judge Pamela Campbell explained that these extra punitive damages are not meant to drive a defendant bankrupt or financially destroy them but simply meant to deter future similar incidents and punish the defendant for what they did.
Gawker’s attorney said that the $115 million the jury awarded to Hogan last week already exceeds the value of the company by around $30 million and that amount is already beyond what they can afford.
Gawker grossed $48.7 million last year while the net worth of Gawker Media founder Nick Denton stands around $121 million and AJ Daulerio, the man who posted the Hogan sex tape story has $27,000…in debt, and no assets.
The jury went back to deliberate and a result is expected within the next few hours.