Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Aftermath – Creditors (including Hogan) claim foul play by Gawker, petition judge for relief

Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Aftermath – September 2016

– Related to Gawker’s auction sale, there was activity at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Southern New York throughout September after the sale to Univision closed on September 9.

However, the creditors believe Gawker has not been cooperative in bankruptcy proceedings. The Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which include Hulk Hogan, filed a letter to Judge Stuart Bernstein on Tuesday accusing Gawker of not following through on the rules of the proceedings and potentially moving assets prior to the auction.

The Committee asked Judge Bernstein to “probe into transactions conducted by the online-media company before its bankruptcy filing in June,” reports the Wall Street Journal. The Committee wants to examine Gawker’s books to see if founder Nick Denton moved assets to his family trust.

PWTorch obtained the legal filing with a list of what documents and testimony are being requested:

• Value of Gawker’s assets
• Intercompany transfers and agreements
• Transfers to or on behalf of insiders, including Nick Denton and “what appears to be a Denton family trust – Greenmount Creek Limited”
• Corporate relationships between debtors
• Other matters affecting Gawker’s assets, liabilities, and financial condition

The Committee outlined a timeline of events leading to their letter to Judge Bernstein requesting court intervention for relief.

• Aug. 22: The Court authorized Gawker’s sale to Univision
• Sept. 9: Gawker’s auction sale to Univision closed
• Aug. – Sept. 20: Gawker provided the Committee “with very little of the information that the Committee requested”
• Sept. 20: Gawker contacted the Committee to inform that “they intended to seek confirmation of a plan of reorganization”
• Sept. 26: Gawker provided a “vague response that ‘many’ of the documents would be available by the end of the week and that others were being ‘gathered’ but no deadline was provided.”

The Committee wrote to Judge Bernstein that they are hopeful “these are not empty promises and that (Gawker) will finally start producing meaningful amounts of information.

“Based on (Gawker’s) conduct to date, however, the Committee fears that absent an Order of this Court, (Gawker) may continue to delay the provision of documents and other information to the Committee that is necessary.”

WSJ reports that lawyers for the Committee filed a separate filing requesting an expedited hearing in two weeks.