Originally published at Death and Taxes, ed. Brian Abrams, 23 March 2016.
Grateful thanks to the Internet Archive for preserving this work.
Tuesday’s court filings in the matter of Bollea v. Gawker Media, LLC et al. brought word that A.J. Daulerio will be moving to California soon to start a new job. His lawyers accordingly advised the Hogan lawyers (or again, more properly, Peter Thiel’s lawyers) Charles Harder, Kenneth Turkel, Shane Vogt, and David Houston, that Daulerio will be taking a few personal items with him to California: his computer, his phone, and “a limited amount of clothing.” (Even someone ensnared in a legal net as tight as the one Daulerio is in has the right to retain a few clothes, and presumably the basic tools he needs in order to make a living.) There’s just a little unfinished business to clear up before he leaves for California, though.
From a letter dated August 23, addressed to the Thiel/Hogan legal team by Gawker attorney Michael Berry:
Would you like him to ship the other personal items he has in Florida — such as his rice cooker, dishes, books, and remaining clothing — to you? Or would it be easier to ship those items directly to Mr. Bollea or Mr. Thiel? If it is acceptable to Mr. Bollea and his benefactor Mr. Thiel, Mr. Daulerio would prefer to take those items with him to California, but [he] did not want to run afoul of their desires.
The general fascination with Daulerio’s rice cooker is widespread. But now, a second drama arises. The letter informs Thiel’s lawyers of an item Daulerio forgot to mention in deposition: a golf club that didn’t make it onto the list (a driver). “While it is likely too small for Mr. Bollea,” the letter concludes, “it might be the right size for one of his friends. Please advise if you would like Mr. Daulerio to include the club in the items he plans to turn over, and, if so, to whom it should be sent.”
You can read the letter here.
