Motion asks for additional damages from Hogan, son

The actions of Hulk Hogan and his son Nick Bollea before the wreck that left John Graziano in a "minimally conscious" state were so egregious the pair should have to pay punitive damages, according to the attorneys for Graziano's guardian.

Those damages would be in addition to any the father and son would pay for compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are those that would compensate Graziano for measureable harm, such as loss wages and medical bills, stemming from the Aug. 26, 2007, wreck, Graziano's attorneys say.

Graziano's attorneys make their case in a 54-page motion filed Wednesday afternoon in Pinellas circuit court. The motion seeks to amend the lawsuit already filed by Graziano's guardian against Hogan and Bollea by adding a new claim for punitive damages.

Much of the evidence the attorneys gathered are not revelations but elaborate on what already is known about the case.

For instance, it has already been reported that Nick Bollea, who was a minor at the time of the wreck, had alcohol in his system. Graziano's attorneys, though, say one of their experts said the amount of alcohol was higher than previously reported and was on the cusp of drunken driving.

Clearwater police reported Bollea was driving at 61 to 66 mph before the wreck, but another expert hired by Graziano's attorneys say the speed was 69 mph, the motion says. The speed limit on the road where the accident occurred was 40 mph.

It has also been reported that several witnesses saw Bollea, who had Graziano as a passenger, racing another car before the wreck. One said it appeared as if Bollea was attempting a controlled fish-tail maneuver.

Graziano's attorneys now say Bollea was attempting to "drift" the Toyota Supra he was driving, meaning he was trying to get the car to slide without losing control.

The actions of Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, also come under scrutiny.

For instance, according to the motion, Hogan had publicly boasted about his son practicing the drift maneuver in their residential neighborhood.

Bollea, then 16, was stopped for speeding twice on Alligator Alley while his father was sitting next to him. Bollea was driving 107 mph in a 70 mph zone and then, after receiving a warning, was clocked at 115 mph by a different trooper 19 miles down the road. That trooper gave him a ticket.

Hogan never told his then-wife, Linda Bollea, about the stops, Graziano's attorneys say in their motion.

When she found out by accident, she took Nick Bollea's car keys from him, the motion says. She didn't know that the speeds were in excess of 100 mph, however, and had she known, she would have meted out a more severe sanction, the motion says.

The motion also mentions the other traffic citations that Bollea received and that have already been widely reported. What had not been reported is that one of the Bolleas' neighbors in Belleair complained to police that Nick Bollea drove in the neighborhood when he didn't have a license.

On the now-defunct television show, "Hogan Knows Best," Hogan is quoted in an episode featuring his son getting a driver's license. Hogan says, "Kind of weird driving in a car with Nick when it's actually legal," the motion says.

It has already been reported that on the morning of the wreck, Hogan went to an Albertson's and purchased beer, and Graziano's attorneys include that fact in their motion. Some of the beer turned up on a boat that was occupied that afternoon by Hogan, his son and his son's friends, and two unknown television producers.

Hogan and his son both say Hogan was unaware whether his son drank any of the beer on the boat, the motion says. Graziano's attorneys find that "incredulous" given the size of the boat and the small number of people on board, the motion says.

"Nicholas Bollea testified he would duck down behind his father's seat in order for his father to not be able to see him consume some beer," the motion says.

"It is evident that Terry Bollea knew of his son's pattern of breaking the law, whether it be driving without a valid driver's license, speeding or practicing drifting maneuvers in the neighborhood, and failed to take appropriate action to curtail his son's reckless driving conduct," the motion.

The accident caused Graziano to "lose a portion of his brain, to be confined to a wheelchair and to be in a minimally conscious state requiring full time care," the motion says.