Technology investor Peter Thiel can’t avoid an investigation into whether he destroyed Gawker Media LLC by buying the company’s remaining assets — which include the right to pursue lawsuits against him — a judge ruled, Bloomberg reported yesterday. A year and a half into Gawker’s bankruptcy, the company will auction the few remaining holdings it has left after its celebrity-gossip blog closed. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur had said he was interested in buying the rights to any claims against him, and that as a result any investigation shouldn’t proceed. Thursday’s ruling means he can still bid on his own liability, but scrutiny of his dealings can go on. Gawker filed for bankruptcy in 2016, blaming a $140 million invasion-of-privacy lawsuit from former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan that Thiel funded. The agent overseeing Gawker’s wind-down has said the company wants more information about any litigation-financing agreement relating to the Hogan lawsuit and wants to know whether Thiel also funded other lawsuits against it. It seeks access to agreements between Thiel and Hogan’s lawyer, Charles J. Harder, who went on to represent disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The bankruptcy is In re Gawker Media LLC, 16-11700, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
