Sony Hit With New Class Action Lawsuit Claiming Negligence

Complaint claims that company should have known the risks of releasing “The Interview”

Already reeling from a spree of hacked confidential information, Sony is now seeing its legal troubles continue to mount.

After being hit with a class-action lawsuit filed by a pair of former Sony employees earlier Monday, the company now faces another suit — this time filed by production managers who claim that Sony was negligent.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday by Susan Dukow and Yvonne Yaconelli, who between them have served on Sony productions including “Last Action Hero,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Jerry Maguire.” According to the suit, both plaintiffs’ personal information was compromised by the hacking.

The complaint contends that Sony was aware of the dangers that could stem from the upcoming Seth RogenJames Franco film “The Interview.” (One theory holds that the hack is the result of anger over the film, which depicts the attempted assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.)

“The Breach arose in connection with the forthcoming release of Sony’s controversial new North Korean-themed comedy, ‘The Interview.’ ‘The Interview’ is a fictionalized account of a bumbling American talk show host (James Franco) and his producer (Seth Rogen) attempting to kill North Korean leader Kim John Un,” the suit reads. “Sony knew the risks of and repercussions associated with releasing the film. Sony received multiple warnings that retribution for releasing the film was inevitable. Sony moved forward with the film, knowing that by doing so, it created an unreasonable risk for Plaintiffs and class members.”

The class-action suit, which alleges negligence, violation of California law and constitutional invasion of privacy, seeks unspecified damages.

Earlier Monday, Sony was hit with a class action suit by a pair of former employees who say that their private information was compromised and that they have had to spend hundreds of dollars for identity-theft protection as a result.

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