News Corp may face lawsuits outside UK
Source: Agencies |
March 4, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THREE people who believe they were targeted by a private investigator working for Rupert Murdoch's News of the World while they were in the United States are considering suing his company in US courts, a source close to the case said.
The lawsuits would be the first litigation filed against Murdoch's News Corp empire in the US. It could also mark a significant escalation in a scandal that has already shaken Britain's media and political establishment.
Murdoch's British publishing arm News International has already handed out millions of dollars in settlements to celebrities and others who had their voice mails hacked.
The source said London police had showed the three people documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator who worked for Murdoch's now-defunct tabloid News of the World.
The documents indicated Mulcaire had collected phone numbers and other information on the targeted individuals when they knew they were in the US, said the source.
The evidence - in the form of detailed notes Mulcaire took regarding assignments he received from journalists at the newspaper - does not prove the persons targeted by Mulcaire had their voicemail hacked, the source said.
Mulcaire's documentation included at least one US telephone number, said the source.
In January 2007, Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, the News of the World's chief reporter on Britain's royal family, pleaded guilty to charges related to phone hacking. Both were sentenced to brief terms of imprisonment.
All legal actions to date regarding alleged phone hacking by Murdoch journalists have been brought in UK courts. However, Mark Lewis, an English lawyer who has represented some of the highest-profile phone hacking claimants, is expected to visit the United States in April to consult American lawyers about the possibility of filing phone hacking lawsuits in the US court system.
The lawsuits would be the first litigation filed against Murdoch's News Corp empire in the US. It could also mark a significant escalation in a scandal that has already shaken Britain's media and political establishment.
Murdoch's British publishing arm News International has already handed out millions of dollars in settlements to celebrities and others who had their voice mails hacked.
The source said London police had showed the three people documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator who worked for Murdoch's now-defunct tabloid News of the World.
The documents indicated Mulcaire had collected phone numbers and other information on the targeted individuals when they knew they were in the US, said the source.
The evidence - in the form of detailed notes Mulcaire took regarding assignments he received from journalists at the newspaper - does not prove the persons targeted by Mulcaire had their voicemail hacked, the source said.
Mulcaire's documentation included at least one US telephone number, said the source.
In January 2007, Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, the News of the World's chief reporter on Britain's royal family, pleaded guilty to charges related to phone hacking. Both were sentenced to brief terms of imprisonment.
All legal actions to date regarding alleged phone hacking by Murdoch journalists have been brought in UK courts. However, Mark Lewis, an English lawyer who has represented some of the highest-profile phone hacking claimants, is expected to visit the United States in April to consult American lawyers about the possibility of filing phone hacking lawsuits in the US court system.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
