American authorities are too afraid of Murdoch to take action but fortunately at least one UK lawyer is traveling to the US to investigate the process of suing News Corp. The payouts for hacking have been high in the UK but the numbers will take an immediate jump if they're successful in the US. It also stands to reason that once one lawyer has success with a case, many more will be looking for reasons to sue News Corp. This year could be an exciting year for Rupert Murdoch's empire. The Guardian:
Mark Lewis, the lawyer who has been at the forefront of efforts to expose the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, is poised to bring the battle for legal redress across the Atlantic and to the doorstep of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.
Lewis will arrive in the US on Saturday and next week will begin legal discussions in New York, just a stone's throw away from News Corporation's global headquarters on Sixth Avenue. His arrival constitutes a major escalation in the legal ramifications of the hacking scandal for Murdoch, who has tried desperately to keep it away from the American core of his multi-billion-dollar media holdings.
Details remain sketchy about precisely what Lewis intends to do in the US, but the Guardian has learned that he will be having legal discussions that could lead to several lawsuits being lodged with the New York courts. The direct involvement of the US judicial system in allegations of illegal activity by News Corp employees would bring the scandal dramatically closer to Murdoch's adopted home.
