Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue

by Ryan Holiday

In Florida, the law states that plaintiffs can’t recover damages for unintentional emotional distress in cases without physical injury. So Harder calls the insurance company and lets them know he’ll be dropping the claim, clearing the path for the insurance company to exit the conflict by 2015. While it seemed odd to Gawker at the time that Hogan would voluntarily give up one of his claims and willingly eliminate the potential liability of a deep-pocketed insurance company in future settlement talks, it was in fact a brilliant and ruthless move. Now Gawker was on the hook by themselves. Now their war chest was depleted—they’d have to defend their story to that jury in Florida on their own.