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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Hulk Hogan jury hit Gawker with another body slam Monday, awarding the former pro wrestler $25.1 million on top of the $115 million it already gave him over the publication of his sex tape.
Gawker owner Nick Denton must personally pony up $10 million of the additional punitive damages, while the gossip site is on the hook for $15 million and its former editor A.J. Daulerio, who posted the video, was held liable for $100,000.
Hogan, 62, whose real name is Terry Bollea, praised the award.
“I feel great. I’m really happy about everything that’s happened, and I think we made history today because I think we’ve protected a lot of people from maybe going through what I went through,’’ he said.
The four-woman, two-man jury took about four hours to answer Hogan’s call to deliver a second blow to Gawker for posting the video of him having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, the shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, who secretly recorded the tryst.
The same panel on Friday had awarded Hogan $65 million for emotional distress and $50 million for the damage to his career and earnings.
Addressing jurors before deliberations Monday, the WWE champ’s lawyer, Kenneth Turkel, urged them consider the statement their verdict would make.
Gawker owner Nick DentonStephen Yang“You send a message. You make a statement. And that statement is, ‘We’re going to draw a line,’ ” he told them.
“Literally, everything was done with complete reckless disregard and intent to harm this man.”
Meanwhile, Gawker’s lawyer, Michael Berry, asked them to spare his clients any more financial pain, insisting, “$115 million is punishment enough.”
Meanwhile Gawker’s attorney, Michael Berry, pleaded with the jury, saying “$115 million is punishment enough.
Former Gawker editor AJ DaulerioStephen YangPinellas County Judge Pamela Campbell had told the jury that the second award couldn’t be “unreasonably large” compared with their first and should not “financially destroy or bankrupt any of the defendants.”
The jurors had been informed that Denton’s worth is $121 million and Gawker’s $83 million and that Daulerio has no assets and is $26,000 in debt.
Denton’s net worth was calculated based on his interest in Gawker Media Group, Gawker’s parent company. Gawker Media Group is worth $276 million.
The judge instructed the jurors to consider “whether wrongful conduct was motivated by unreasonable financial gain,’’ whether there was a “high likelihood of injury actually known by” the defendants and “whether the harm was intentional malice.’’
Before leaving to deliberate, one female juror asked the judge, regarding the penniless Daulerio, whether the jury could dole out punishment in the form of community service.
The answer was no.
Denton was grim as he addressed reporters afterward.
“We look forward to going to the appeals court,” he said.
Another Hogan lawyer, David Houston, was more than pleased.
“What can we say? [The jurors] did everything we asked. They vindicated Mr. Bollea,’’ he said.
Hogan sued Gawker in 2012 for publishing footage that showed him in a canopy-bed romp with Heather Cole, then-wife of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.
The jury had agreed that Gawker invaded Hogan’s privacy.
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Additional reporting by Kate Sheehy in New York



