[SIGCIS-Members] Forbes speculates that Peter Thiel may be underwriting Ayyadurai's lawsuit

[Thomas Haigh]

Interesting news updates.

 

The Times this morning reported speculation that the lawsuits of Hulk Hogan and others against Gawker were underwritten by someone intent on bankrupting the company. The report suggests that Hogan’s case is being pursued in a very unusual way, designed to maximize the hit to Gawker rather than the size of the award. It notes that “Several legal experts said that it was particularly unusual for a plaintiff using a lawyer being paid on a contingency basis not only to turn down settlement offers (several sizable settlements were proffered by Gawker) but also to pursue a strategy that prevented an insurance company from being able to contribute to a settlement.” Also that “Mr. Harder has brought two new cases against Gawker that seem puzzling. One is a defamation case on behalf of Shiva Ayyadurai, who claimed to have invented email. Gawker had written an article challenging his argument, similar to an article from The Washington Post and others on the same topic.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/24/business/dealbook/gawker-founder-suspects-a-common-financer-behind-lawsuits.html?_r=0

 

Now Forbes reports that Hogan’s case is underwritten by Peter Thiel, the guy who was paying people to drop out of college. Ayyadurai’s lawsuit is filed by the same lawyer as Hogan’s, but according to Forbes “It is unclear if Thiel is helping to fund Ayyadurai or Terrill’s cases against Gawker.” https://archive.is/5G63D.

 

Best wishes,

Tom

 

NB: If you haven’t been following all this, for background see www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai <http://www.sigcis.org/ayyadurai>  and www.tomandmaria.com/tom/emailgrab <http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/emailgrab> . 

 

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