Judge Won't Pin Hulk in Jail

Linda Hogan loses bid to send hubby to jail for backing out of Vegas condo deal

By Natalie Finn Jul 11, 2008 10:42 PMTags
Hulk Hogan, Brooke HoganMike/FAME Pictures

This round goes to Hulk Hogan.

A Florida judge has helped the wrestling star pin his estranged wife between a rock and a hard place, ruling that, at this point, he cannot send Hogan to jail for failing to shell out $4.2 million for a Las Vegas condo as he agreed to buy in 2005.

"It should be obvious to everyone by now that Terry Bollea was never going to be held in contempt for challenging an irresponsible transaction," Hogan attorney David Houston said Friday, using his client's legal name.

"Those who bought into the spin from Linda Bollea's attorneys that this was even a remote possibility should think twice the next time they try to work them."

Linda had argued that her husband should be sent to jail for contempt of court for not following through with their previous, in-happier-times plan to purchase a luxurious Vegas pad. The deal was supposed to close on May 30, her camp says.

But Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer wrote in a three-page ruling that it isn't clear to him that there was a May 30 deadline scheduled as Linda has claimed.

Her attorney, A.J. Barranco, told E! News earlier this week that Hulk's excuses for not buying the property—first, that the apartment was actually worth $1 million less than the selling price and, second, that he wanted to sort out the family's current financial issues, including a lawsuit brought by the family of the young man who was seriously injured in a car accident caused by their son Nick—were not legally valid.

"That is a poor excuse under Florida law, and it is not an acceptable one," Barranco said.

Meanwhile, Greer also said today that both sides are welcome to return to court with further information to bolster their respective cases.