If Hogan hired the same lawyer without the financial backing of Thiel and instead had him working on contingency, the lawyer would most likely have used a different strategy [ETA: and the lawyers Bollea used do work on contingency]. Specifically, they would have structured the case so that Gawker’s insurance coverage applied. Including the insurance company likely would have netted Terry Bollea more than than the $31 million he ultimately ended up getting,and also would have saved Gawker from bankruptcy.
People should also remember that Thiel’s support was secret until after the trial. This hurt Gawker’s defense strategy as you do things differently when the plaintiff has unlimited deep pockets. It also rather conveniently meant that Thiel avoided discovery explaining why he was bankrolling Mr. Bollea.
