Belzer v. Bollea
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| Belzer v. Bollea | |
|---|---|
| Court | New York Supreme Court, New York County |
| Citation | 150 Misc. 2d 925 (N.Y. Misc. 1990) |
| Keywords | |
| contingent fees | |
Belzer v. Bollea 150 Misc. 2d 925 (N.Y. Misc. 1990) is a 1990 New York Supreme Court case between TV presenter Richard Belzer and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (whose real name is Terry Bollea). The case involved Belzer suing Hogan for personal injury after Hogan had put a sleeper hold on him, after Belzer had asked him to demonstrate one of his signature moves. The case was eventually settled financially out of court; however, the case continued to be heard for the purposes of additional attorney's compensation requested by Belzer's lawyers, which was denied by the court.[1]
Richard Belzer was a comedian who was the host of Hot Properties on television in 1985. On March 27, 1985, during one episode, he was interviewing Hulk Hogan and Mr. T live for their upcoming World Wrestling Federation WrestleMania I tag team match. Belzer asked Hogan to put him in a wrestling hold.[2] Hogan put Belzer in a front chin lock and applied it, which led to Belzer passing out. As he did so, Belzer slipped from Hogan's grasp and hit his head on the floor.[3] Belzer later awoke to cut to a commercial break, and went to the hospital to have nine stitches in the back of his head where he hit the floor.[4] Following the commercial break, Hogan apologized for injuring Belzer, with Hogan keeping kayfabe and saying "didn't realize that apparently he doesn't do any physical training at all" and warned the audience "if you're not a professional athlete or you're not a professional wrestler, don't try to copy what you see the athletes or professional wrestlers do on TV".[2] Belzer appeared on Hot Properties a week later, and showed the stitches that resulted from the incident. He sued Hogan for $5 million in damages for personal injury.[4]
