Judge: Gawker Still Has to Pay Hulk Hogan $140M

Well, it looks like Gawker still owes Hulk Hogan $140 million. On Wednesday, a Florida circuit court judge declined to order a new trial or change the jury's verdict in Hogan's lawsuit against the media company, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Gawker's attorney had asked the judge to reduce the jury's verdict or toss it completely. In March, Hogan was awarded $55 million in economic damages, $60 million for emotional distress, and $25 million in extra punitive damages after Gawker published a portion of his sex tape in 2012, according to ABC News.

Gawker has said paying that amount would be "ruinous" for the company, the Wall Street Journal reports. A lawyer for the company calls the verdict “grossly excessive compared to the conduct at issue." Hogan's team disagrees. "Gawker has failed and continues to fail in recognizing their obligation to [Hogan] for their reprehensible behavior and method of doing what they call journalism," ABC quotes Hogan’s legal team as saying Wednesday. The judge's decision sends the case to a Florida appeals court, where Gawker plans to cite the First Amendment. It was reported Tuesday that the billionaire founder of PayPal, who has beef with Gawker, has been funding Hogan's lawsuit. (More Hulk Hogan stories.)