<b><i>Online Extra:</b></i> Sony Settles Suit Over Hacked Data

'The settlement not only allows the settlement class to avoid the risks of continued litigation, but it provides them with something else that could not be achieved through litigation ' prompt relief,' Keller Rohrback partner Cari Campen Laufenberg wrote in support of the motion to approve the pact. 'Proceeding to trial could add years to the resolution of this case, given the legal and factual issues raised and likelihood of appeals.'

Keller Rohrback, Girard Gibbs, and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein serve as co-lead class counsel in the case.

A Sony press representative declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

The litigation stems from a November 2014 hack of Sony's computer network by a group calling itself Guardians of the Peace. The cyberattack exposed confidential information about thousands of current and former employees, including Social Security numbers, salaries and medical records, according to class counsel. The hackers also posted a salacious trove of studio insider emails that included racially tinged missives, details about movie stars' pay and gossipy opinions of industry talent.

U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner of the Central District of California in June dismissed plaintiffs' claims for breach of implied contract and for violations of various states' consumer-protection laws. The settlement was reached five months before trial on the four remaining categories of claims was scheduled to begin, Laufenberg wrote.

Sony is represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

The agreement calls on Sony to provide direct notice to settlement class members and to publish a notice in People magazine.

Cheryl Miller writes for The Recorder, an ALM sibling of e-Commerce Law & Strategy. She can be reached at Contact the reporter at'[email protected].

'

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. will pay up to $8 million, including $3.5 million in attorney fees, to settle claims tied to the infamous 2014 hacking scandal, according to proposed terms filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Attorneys representing a proposed class of current and former Sony employees say the entertainment conglomerate has agreed to create a $2 million fund to reimburse settlement class members for costs they've incurred to shield themselves from identity theft. Sony will also pay for two years of identity-protection services for class members plus an additional $2.5 million to victims who have suffered losses tied to the data breach.

Class counsel will also receive fees of up to $3.49 million under the terms of the deal.

'The settlement not only allows the settlement class to avoid the risks of continued litigation, but it provides them with something else that could not be achieved through litigation ' prompt relief,' Keller Rohrback partner Cari Campen Laufenberg wrote in support of the motion to approve the pact. 'Proceeding to trial could add years to the resolution of this case, given the legal and factual issues raised and likelihood of appeals.'

Keller Rohrback, Girard Gibbs, and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein serve as co-lead class counsel in the case.

A Sony press representative declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

The litigation stems from a November 2014 hack of Sony's computer network by a group calling itself Guardians of the Peace. The cyberattack exposed confidential information about thousands of current and former employees, including Social Security numbers, salaries and medical records, according to class counsel. The hackers also posted a salacious trove of studio insider emails that included racially tinged missives, details about movie stars' pay and gossipy opinions of industry talent.

U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner of the Central District of California in June dismissed plaintiffs' claims for breach of implied contract and for violations of various states' consumer-protection laws. The settlement was reached five months before trial on the four remaining categories of claims was scheduled to begin, Laufenberg wrote.

Sony is represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

The agreement calls on Sony to provide direct notice to settlement class members and to publish a notice in People magazine.

Cheryl Miller writes for The Recorder, an ALM sibling of e-Commerce Law & Strategy. She can be reached at Contact the reporter at'[email protected].

'