|
The settlement with the Sony Corp unit and current and former
employees was disclosed in papers filed on Monday in federal
court in Los Angeles.
Under the deal, Sony will pay up to $2.5 million, or $10,000 per
person, to reimburse employees for identity theft losses and up
to $2 million, or $1,000 per person, to reimburse them for
protective measures they took after the cyber attack.
Sony has also agreed to pay up to $3.49 million to cover legal
fees and costs, according to court papers. The settlement must
be approved by U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner.
Neither Sony nor a lawyer for the plaintiffs immediately
responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.
"The Interview" starred Seth Rogen and James Franco, and
depicted the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un.
Sony shelved the movie's wide theatrical release after the
hacking, which surfaced in November and drew international
attention. It later offered the movie through digital downloads.
The attack, for which U.S. officials blamed North Korean
hackers, wiped out massive amounts of data and led to the online
distribution of email, sensitive employee data and pirated
copies of new movies.
The lawsuit was filed soon after by former employees who
contended Sony's negligence caused them economic harm by forcing
them to beef up credit monitoring to address their greater risk
of identity theft.
They also said the data breach was an "epic nightmare" for them
and thousands of former colleagues.
In June, Klausner rejected Sony's bid to dismiss the lawsuit,
saying the employees could pursue their claims that Sony was
negligent and violated a California confidentiality law.
The case is Corona et al v. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc,
U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No.
14-09600.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
