U.S. shareholders of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. are attempting to sue their own board for allowing and mismanaging the massive phone-hacking scandal that has resulted in dozens of costly lawsuits (and counting), among other major disruptions. “All of this harm occurred because the board chose to protect those close to Murdoch rather than investigate the misconduct when it learned about it,” claim the investors, who hope to file a lawsuit in Delaware, charging that the family treated the company like a “candy jar.” An expert said, “The chances of bringing these type of cases are usually pretty slim but here you have independence and conflict of interest issues vis a vis the board so there’s more of a shot.” But then they’ll have to get in line.
