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 After deliberating six hours, the jury awarded Hogan $60
million for emotional distress and $55 million for economic
damages.
"This is a victory for everyone who has had their privacy
violated," Hogan's attorney, David Houston, said.
As the award was announced, the 62-year-old mustachioed
wrestling icon cried and hugged Houston.
The case has drawn attention as a digital-age test of a
celebrity's privacy rights and freedom of the press under the
First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Gawker publisher Nick Denton said the website would appeal the
verdict. A Gawker attorney previously said a loss could put the
website out of business.
"We all knew the appeals court will need to resolve the case,"
Denton said in a statement. "We feel very positive about the
appeal that we have already begun preparing, as we expect to win
this case ultimately."
The jury is to remain sequestered until Monday when it will
consider punitive damages and other matters in the case.
Hogan, whose legal name is Terry Bollea, had sought $100 million
in damages over the edited video that Gawker, a New York-based
outlet known for gossip and media reporting, posted online in
2012.
The jury of two men and four women agreed with Hogan that his
privacy had been violated, that the violation had caused him
harm and that Hogan had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Clay Calvert, a professor of law and mass communications at the
University of Florida and a First Amendment expert, said such a
large verdict was almost certain to be pared back on appeal, if
not reversed.
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"Juries generally do not like the media," he said after the verdict.
"The appellate court is a little more neutral."
Gawker's one-minute, 41-second video depicted Hogan engaged in sex
with the wife of his then-best friend, radio "shock jock"
personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.
Hogan, a longtime star of World Wrestling Entertainment, said he did
not know the consensual encounter had been recorded when it occurred
nearly a decade ago in Bubba's home.
Gawker's video included excerpts from a 30-minute sex tape the
company obtained without knowing its origin.
Hogan testified that he still suffers from the humiliation of a
video that went viral. The video was viewed 2.5 million times on the
Gawker site.
Hogan wore a signature black bandana during the two-week trial in
St. Petersburg, Florida, near his home. Testimony touched on media
ethics, website analytics and Hogan's statements about his sex life,
including descriptions of his genitalia.
Gawker said the posting was in keeping with its mission to cover
true and interesting subjects, stressing that Hogan had made his sex
life a public matter.
Denton and the editor responsible for the post, A.J. Daulerio, were
called as defense witnesses. Both were named in the lawsuit and they
stood by the post, which Denton said "stands up to the test of
time."
(Writing by Letitia Stein and Joseph Ax; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
and Leslie Adler)
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