Hulk Hogan scored a win in his lawsuit against Gawker.com over the leaking of his sex tape. Judge James Whittemore granted Hogan’s motion to remand the lawsuit back to state court; Gawker was attempting to get the case moved to federal court. Whittemore also granted the motion to link the lawsuit with Hogan’s separate lawsuit against Heather Clem, the ex-wife of Bubba the Love Sponge. That motion was granted based on “chain of custody” questions regarding how the sex tape ended up in Gawker’s hands.
The judge noted, “The claims against Heather Clem and Gawker are ‘logically related’ and rest on the same set of operative facts – namely, the recording and publication of the video.”
The case is back in Florida state now; it is being reported that Gawker still has a good chance to win based on its First Amendment defense, but they are on less certain ground now.
