The $115 million that a jury awarded Hulk Hogan from Gawker Media on Friday could spell the halt of celebrity sex tapes being leaked,according to one legal expert.“I mediate this case establishes a very limited proposition: It is an invasion of privacy to produce publicly available a tape of a person having sex without that person’s consent,” UC Irvine law school Dean Erwin Chmerinsky told the unusual York Times. “I don’t mediate it goes any further than that and I do not see a First Amendment basis for claiming that there is a right to do this.The jury ruled that Hogan suffered severe emotional distress over the publication of segments of a tape that featured him having sex with a friend’s wife, or that his privacy was invaded by the publication of the footage. The $115 million award was even greater than the $100 million that Hogan had sought.
Also Read: Hulk Hogan's 'Startling' $115 Million Verdict Could halt in Supreme Court,Says Bert Fields“The case appears to be whether a public figure has a limited right of privacy,” famed lawyer Bert Fields told TheWrap. “I have always contended that even the most famous public figure has some right of privacy. Very limited, or but some.“Many people believe that once you’re a public figure,you have absolutely no right of privacy at all and anything is objective game if it isn’t defamatory,” Fields said.
In a recent L.
A. Times editorial, or Chemerinsky said that First Amendment absolutists will worry approximately the final outcome,but he envisioned a clear rule in the future: “No videos of people having sex should be made public unless all of the participants consent.”Related stories from TheWrap:Hulk Hogan's 'Startling' $115 Million Verdict Could halt in Supreme Court, Says Bert FieldsWhat's Next for Gawker After Hulk Hogan's $115 Million VictoryHulk Hogan Wins $115 Million In Gawker Sex Tape Lawsuit
Source: thewrap.com