Bankruptcy Court Judge Stuart Bernstein yesterday authorized creditors of Gawker Media Group to begin voting on its debt-repayment plan, a day after the former publisher unveiled the settlement of a yearslong legal battle with former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan that put both the company and its founder in bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Following a hearing in Manhattan, Judge Bernstein said that Gawker could solicit votes on the plan, which describes both the company’s intent to pay out $31 million to the retired wrestler as well as provisions that would allot millions of dollars more to other creditors. Since filing for bankruptcy in June, Gawker sold off most of its assets to a unit of Univision Communications Inc., which renamed them Gizmodo Media Group. The $135 million sale put Gawker’s editorial operations out the reach of the crippling defamation lawsuits brought by Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, and others and provided the funds needed to settle those lawsuits.
