In the wake of fresh claims about journalists at the now defunct News of the World hacking into private voicemail messages, the newspaper’s parent company is being sued by its shareholders.
News Corp is being accused by Amalgamated Bank and a number of pension funds of breaching its duty by failing to take early action when claims of phone hacking first emerged. Lawsuit has reportedly been filed in Delaware by law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, whose managing director Jay Eisenhofer said:
“News Corp.’s behaviour has become an egregious collection of nepotism and corporate governance failures, with a board completely unwilling to provide even the slightest level of adult supervision,”
The lawsuit also accuses News Corp’s board of:
“failing to exercise proper oversight and take sufficient action since news of the hacking first surfaced at its subsidiary nearly six years ago.”
As the lawsuit has only just been filed, the full details of the case – such as how much the shareholders are seeking in damages – are not yet known. Also not revealed it just how much News Corp will need to rely on its professional indemnity insurance should its shareholders triumph in the case.