Lawyers Expect 500 Suits Against News Corp

Phone hacking scandal is going to get very expensive, both sides predict
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 1, 2012 1:01 PM CDT
Lawyers Expect 500 Suits Against News Corp
Protesters dressed up as Rupert Murdoch, left, and his son James pose for photographers as they demonstrate outside the Leveson inquiry at the High Court in London, Apr. 24, 2012.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

News Corp has not yet begun to pay for its phone hacking ways. Lawyers for both the company and hacking victims estimate that the company could face 500 civil suits related to the scandal before all is said and done—which is a whole heck of a lot more than the 110 lawsuits filed so far, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This is about scale," a lawyer representing News Corp said in court today, while discussing how much both sets of lawyers should be paid.

A lawyer for the victims estimated that there were 520 total potential claims, including those already resolved. So far, News Corp has settled more than half of the cases actually filed, leaving 49 still live. Another lawyer representing the victims said he had 200 or so more claimants who had given "undertakings," meaning they'd contacted police for information, and are assembling filings. News Corp has said that its goal is to settle as many cases as possible out of court. (More News Corp stories.)

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