Sony Requests Class Actions to be Dismissed

According to the Hollywood Reporter, on Monday Sony Pictures requested that eight class action lawsuits be dismissed. Sony also has submitted a motion to consolidate these actions. Ultimately, Sony claims that that the plaintiffs have not asserted an actual injury (i.e. identity theft or fraudulent charges). Instead, the lawsuits, that were filed on behalf of ex-employees whose personal information was leaked as a result of the Guardians of the Peace hack, claim that Sony is liable on theories of negligence as well as through violations of Unfair Competition Law and California state laws surrounding the protection of medical data. The plaintiffs, backed by security analysts, also argue that Sony did not take adequate protection measures to prevent the release of the information. However, Sony rebuts that this was a unprecedented breach and the proposed prevention measures are merely theoretical. Yet, even if the suits are dismissed it is likely that Sony and its data breach will remain in the headlines for months to come.