Hulk Hogan's son crashes again ???

The prior tickets and drifting licensing may not be admissible at trial and may be excluded for evidence. There are specific rules about using prior convictions as evidence and this is clearly being used to show "propensity" of Nick, something that is not allowed. You can't say, "well, he did X before, therefore he must have been doing X then." They're building much of their case on character evidence and that is risky. A jury might buy into it though if it is not properly dealt with.

That said, it will be hard for Nick to get out of the negligence counts. The counts against the parents (where the money is) are harder to prove.

 

You dont think the jury will have heard through general media ? I know that legally they are supposed to not incorporate that info into their determination BUT we know thats not how humans are.

 

I've heard the Hogan's are going to skip a Jury... Probably smart unless you can find 12 people to sit on a jury, who have a reality TV show- bragging about street racing and teens with $$$ expensive race cars (jury of your peers?)

Hogan's, with their rather large legal team, will go for a case in front of a judge so they can argue technical points of the law.... or more likely settle out of court...(use HIS star power to get some kind of better deal with a star-struck prosecutor, compaired to even stepping foot in a court room)

 

Maybe if the Hulkster had been more of a parent instead of a buddy this would have been avoided. I would say that there were 17 years of mistakes that lead to this incident, not just one "poof" moment in time mistake.

This is a sad mess. The Terry will be able to afford the financial hit, let's hope that he can save the reputation hit. Most of all let's hope that Nick matures from this.

 

I would be surprised if that is true. My bet is that the plaintiff will get all they can find that he owns, and a future entitlement to any gains...
I guess Nick's description of the passenger having a 'bumped head' was a little off.
At least it opens my eyes to the dangers, I know I will not be street racing...
BT

 

It took the tabloid misfortune of a moron to get to this point...?

 

I'm sure there are PLENTY of elderly folk in that county who don't watch reality TV!

 

Hogans atty reportedly will not ask for jury; figure they will be better off under the Judge and to maximize various technicality issues. Also thought to be ready to make monetary out-of-court settlement with the civil suit, and then plead out the kid's criminal charges with a hopefully star-struck D.A. - according to an MSNEWS column this morning.

 

I believe it's already been said that John was with him the entire day. And maybe video footage of them all with Hulk at the store buying beer. There are receipts that prove a large quanity of beer was bought that day.

While it would be difficult/impossible to prove, his myspace page could be used to show Nick has a lack of compassion.

Specifically, directly after the crash when Nick announced his excitement about Polaroid sponsoring him (before they ended that deal). At the very end of his little "blog" saying something along the lines of "Oh yea, pray for John. He's got a bit of bump on his head".

That to me tells me he cares only about the good of himself.

 

The plaintiff has already made a jury demand though. I agree that the Bollea/Hogans will be better with a bench trial, but they can't just refuse a jury if the plaintiff seeks it. If I were on defense though, I'd definitely tell them to settle confidentially now.

 

So then, why the lawsuit?

Isn't Graziano responsible for his own actions? You could replace him name with any of the defendants names in the lawsuit and it would ring true. Graziano knew or should have known x, y, and z - just like he claims the Hogan's knew or should have knew.

Again, what happened sucks - but I simply don't see how Graziano isn't as liable as any other third party that "knew or should have known". This lawsuit is without merit, IMO.

 

Well, let's assume a little different scenario...what if they spent the day drinking and then they were out playing around with guns instead of cars. Then, because they are fooling around in an immature manner, suddenly one of them shoots another. Taking this as an example, then -

Mr. Graziano did not pull the trigger, fail to check if the gun was loaded, point it at his friend, (nor was he at the wheel.)

He WAS apparantly in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

They were not playing with guns they were in a car. Graziano knew Nick had been drinking and he also chose not to wear his seat belt. I say he is 60% responsible for this

 

I'm sure Graziano's family will settle for 40% of Hulk's estate/umbrella policy.

 

It's like the other 95-98% of the lawsuits that are filed each year. They're essentially frivolous. Instead of/along with an apology and jail time, people want a large sum of money to help "ease" the pain. It's truly sad that this is the way of the world we live in.

It's even more unfortunate that the Hogans and Graziano's had apparently been friends since their two sons were very young. Which is why, if I remember, Hulk was already taking care of all medical expenses as well as others.

Could the Hulk, somehow renegged on his original "offer" of paying for these cost and that is what brought up this lawsuit?

This case is a lot more difficult and has a lot more details surrounding it.

 

I bet they would.

 

Here is the latest in the zoo...

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/28/judge-recuses-herself-bollea-car-wreck-case/?news-breaking

CLEARWATER - Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Chris Helinger has recused herself from the case involving Nick Bollea, the teenage son of former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

According to court spokesman Ron Stuart, Helinger recused herself after realizing one of the attorneys representing Bollea had represented a relative of the judge more than 20 years ago. She said she wanted to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

Stuart did not know which of the lawyers involved in Bollea's defense had represented Helinger's relative.

Bollea was charged with reckless driving involving serious bodily injury after a wreck that left his passenger, Iraq war veteran John Graziano, with a severe head injury.

 

5-8-08:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Nick Hogan will cop to a criminal charge in court tomorrow.

We're told Hogan will not fight the charge of felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. He will plead either guilty or no contest. Sources say no deal has been struck with prosecutors. Hogan will enter an "open plea," meaning the judge will have complete leeway in his sentencing and the victim and his family will have an opportunity to testify at a sentencing hearing on how the crime has affected their lives. The maximum penalty is five years in prison.

On August 26, 2007, Nick was driving a suped-up Toyota with passenger John Graziano when he crashed, severely injuring John.

We're told Hulk and the rest of Nick's family will be in Pinellas County court (Florida) tomorrow.

 

I find it funny they say "suped-up" Toyota.

 

Nick Bollea gets 8 months in jail
UPDATE: Nick Bollea will serve eight months in jail, 500 hours of community service and 5 years of probation, a judge ordered today.

Circuit Judge Philip Federico said he hope Bollea will do "everything you can do to make up for this.'' He also withheld adjudication, which means Bollea will not have a felony record.

The sentence is intended to both punish Bollea and give him a chance to redeem himself, Federico said.

The judge initially announced community service and probation, but ended with an additional eight months in jail.

 

Poor Nick...

CLEARWATER - Shortly after he was put in a cell at Pinellas County Jail, Nick Bollea started complaining about the accommodations to his parents in telephone conversations, often breaking into tears, according to copies of the conversations made by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

"I have to get out of here," the 17-year-old tells his mother, Linda Bollea. "I can't deal with this for eight months."

The call was made in the early evening, on the same day Bollea pleaded no contest to a charge of reckless driving involving serious injury. On Aug. 26, he crashed a car into a tree in Clearwater, leaving his sole passenger, Iraq war veteran John Graziano, with brain damage.

Bollea was placed in a cell by himself, one roughly 8 1/2 feet wide by 16 1/2 feet long. That kind of arrangement is made for all juveniles who are sentenced as adults to spend time in the jail or are awaiting trial to face felony charges.

Bollea says his cell is half the size of his bathroom at home, and he repeatedly complains about there being no windows.

"They put me in a crazy ward," he says.

He takes a few shots at his attorney, Kevin Hayslett, saying that if knew he was going to be in a windowless cell by himself, he would rather have gone to trial. His charge carried a potential sentence of up to five years.

Bollea said Hayslett gave him the impression that he would be in minimum security and able to play cards. His mother counters that if he were put in with the general population, maybe people would beat him up because he is a celebrity.

"Don't' cry, Baby," says Linda Bollea, who sometimes swears and wonders aloud whether what they say to one another will be on the local cable television station "like … everything else around here."

Inmates repeatedly are warned that their calls may be recorded.

"It's so much worse than you could ever imagine," Nick Bollea says. "This is like a state prison. I'm all by myself."

When his father, Terry Bollea, also known as Hulk Hogan, takes the receiver, he at one point tells his boy to "man up."

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or [email protected].

 

In a perverse way im totally loving this...

 

He has a lot of growing up to do.

 

Sadly, I am too. I would actually like to hear these phone convo's.

Judging from what's in this article, he won't learn a damn thing. It'll be poor Nick. They need to have inmates who know they've ****ed up, scare the **** out of him to realize how lucky he is.

I think with what Hulk said, he's furious as all hell at his son.

Question, how does he know what a "State Prison" is like?

 

Another link:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05212008/gossip/pagesix/prison_blues_111768.htm

May 21, 2008 -- NICK Hogan is not doing well in jail, friends say. The son of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan started serving eight months in California's Pinellas County Jail on May 9 for a drunken-driving accident that left his best friend, John Graziano, in a coma. "Nick's doing really bad. He's struggling to even form a sentence," one friend said. "They have him in a cell by himself, isolated from the general population, because of threats. He didn't understand how awful jail really is until now." That will be small consolation to Graziano's relatives, who say Hogan has done very little for their son since the crash.