Sony Ex-Employees Hit Studio With Another Class Action Suit Over Hack Attack
Two ex-employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment have filed a class action suit against the studio, claiming that it was negligent in protecting personal information and also in planning for the release “The Interview” in the face of a threat of a hacker attack.
The lawsuit was filed by production coordinator Susan Dukow, whose credits include “Last Action Hero and “Jerry Maguire,” and Yvonne Yaconelli, production manager on “Spider-Man II,” “The Green Hornet’ and “The Smurfs 3D.”
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, is the second filed in the past day related to the hacking attack. Two ex-employees filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles late Monday.
The latest lawsuit makes some similar claims, but also that Sony “knew the risks and repercussions associated with releasing” “The Interview,” in which Seth Rogen and James Franco portray entertainment journalists recruited to kill North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. North Korea condemned the film, but has denied involvement in the hacker attack.
“Various news reports suggest the original script of ‘The Interview’ included a fake villain, but that Sony specifically changed the script to make North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un the film’s villain,” the lawsuit states, “Upon information and belief, Sony knew it was reasonably foreseeable that producing a script about North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un would cause a backlash. Upon information and belief, Sony executives were excited about the possibilities of producing a film with a real-world villain.”
The lawsuit contends that Sony’s “actions and inactions” related to the release of “The Interview” “created an unreasonable risk” of a security breach.
The FBI is investigating the breach, but has not said whether they have determined that North Korea was in fact connected to the hacking attack.
The lawsuit claims violations of the California Data Breach Act, invasion of privacy, violation of the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, and negligence.
The lawsuit claims that Sony “was aware its security devices were deficient and vulnerable,” and that personal information fo employees and ex-employees was vulnerable.
An SPE spokeswoman said they had no comment.
The lawsuit was filed by Douglas Johnson, Neville Johnson and Brian Shippen-Murray of Johnson & Johnson in Beverly Hills.
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