By Kevin McCauley
The lawyer representing people who claim their phones were hacked by News Corp.’s now defunct News of the World tabloid are pushing the probe to the U.S.
Sky News reports the move is “bad news for News Corp and its boss Rupert Murdoch as well as his son and corporate heir James.”
Mark Lewis said today that he plans to "raise issues about the role of a parent company over its subsidiaries.”
New York lawyer Norman Siegel, who represents families of 9/11 victims, has been retained to gather depositions from the Murdochs and News Corp board members concerning allegations that NOTW staffers bribed British police and other “malpractices.”
Lewis will determine if a class action suit against News Corp. is warranted based on U.S. corruption laws that make it illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to pay bribes to overseas officials. A potential class action suit would be filed in New York within ten days.
U.S. Justice Dept. officials, according to The Guardian, have already requested information from News Corp. about alleged payments to British police.
Meanwhile, News Corp. has agreed to pay $4.6M to the family of Milly Dowler, the murdered 13-year-old hacking victim, and a charity to settle the claims of the Dowlers.
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