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U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said the plaintiffs could
pursue claims that the Sony Corp <6758.T> unit was negligent and
violated a California confidentiality law by spurning security
measures to stop the theft of employees' salary and health data,
Social Security numbers and other sensitive information.
Without ruling on the merits, the Los Angeles judge on Monday
said Sony created a "special relationship" with its employees by
requiring them to provide personal information to be eligible
for salaries and benefits.
He said this justified letting the plaintiffs seek to hold Sony
liable for its "business decision" not to bolster security after
prior breaches, such as a 2011 infiltration of the PlayStation
video game network.
The former workers said 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, for which U.S. officials blamed
North Korean hackers, was an "epic nightmare" for them and
thousands of former colleagues.
Klausner dismissed some other claims in the lawsuit, which seeks
class-action status.
Sony did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for
comment.
Michael Sobol, a lawyer, said on the plaintiffs' behalf: "We are
pleased that the court has properly recognized the harm to
Sony's employees resulting from their private information
escaping their employer's protection."
"The Interview" starred Seth Rogen and James Franco, and
depicted the fictional assassination of North Korea leader Kim
Jong Un.
Sony shelved the movie's wide theatrical release after the
hacking, which drew international attention. It later offered
the movie through digital downloads.
The case is Corona et al v. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc,
U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No.
14-09600.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom
Brown)
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