Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, left, along with attorney Seema Ghatnekar prepare to take a break (Boyzell Hosey/The Tampa Bay Times via AP, Pool)
SANTA CLARA Calif. (Diya TV) — A Florida jury assessed Gawker Media millions more in punitive damages on Monday for having invaded the privacy of former professional wrestler Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, adding to the $115 million it awarded in compensatory damages last week — standing beside Hogan when both verdicts were read was his attorney, Indian-American Seema Ghatnekar.
Ms. Ghatnekar was admitted to California State Bar in December of 2014 and practices in the areas of intellectual property, entertainment, media, privacy and reputation and business litigation in state and federal courts, according to the website of Harder, Mirell & Abrams, the lawfirm for whom she works. She attended Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she earned her JD with a concentration in intellectual property law. During law school, Ghatnekar served as Chief Production Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review. She also competed in the Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Intellectual Property Moot Court. Many businesses hire an external lawyer such as Ms. Ghatnekar who handles business litigation for them in order to ensure that they follow all legal procedure and that their case is as solid as possible against the defendant.
After a two-week trial in St. Petersburg, Fla., jurors ordered Gawker, an online news organization, and its two co-defendants, to pay Hogan more than $25 million in punitive damages. Gawker Media was ordered to pay $15 million; the company’s founder, Nick Denton, was assessed $10 million; and Gawker.com’s former editor in chief, Albert J. Daulerio, must come up with $100,000.
The retired wrestler Hulk Hogan was awarded $115 million in damages on Friday.
Gawker said it would appeal the ruling, and previously, huge damages in cases like these are often overturned or significantly reduced.
Heather Dietrick, president and general counsel of Gawker Media, said in a statement that soon after Mr. Bollea sued the company in 2012, three state appeals court judges and a federal judge “repeatedly ruled that Gawker’s post was newsworthy” under the First Amendment. “We expect that to happen again,” she said.
On Friday of the week before, the news site was found liable for harming Hogan and subjecting him to embarrassment and humiliation by posting a sex tape of him and a significant other, which was ultimately viewed by millions. 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. Some reports stated that Ghatnekar gave the closing agreements, which was not the case. The closing arguments were given by Entertainment Attorney Kenneth Turkel of Bajo Cuva Cohen and Turkel, a Florida Law Firm.
