Sony Ex-Employees Seek to Combine Class Action Lawsuits

Seven federal class action lawsuits and two state court claims have been filed against Sony Pictures Entertainment, blaming the breach of the personal information of ex-employees on negligence.

Now the plaintiffs in the case, all ex-employees, are seeking to have their federal cases consolidated in one, which is not surprising given the similarities in the claims.

A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9, but Sony is asking that U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner rule sooner on whether to consolidate.

For its part, Sony Pictures Entertainment isn’t opposed to consolidating the cases, but it is planning to dispute the plaintiffs’ factual allegations and legal conclusions in the cases, as well as the notion that any of the cases can be litigated as a class action, according to a filing by Christopher Casamassima of Wilmer Hale, which is representing the studio.

The plaintiffs also are asking that Keller Rohrback, Girard Gibbs and Lieff Cabraser be appointed interim co-lead class counsel, and Keller Rorhback as liaison counsel.

The first case was filed on Dec. 15 by Michael Corona and Christina Mathis.

Related stories

President Obama Pushes for Cyber Legislation in Wake of Sony Hack

'The Wedding Ringer's' Kevin Hart on His Standing With Sony: 'It's All Good'

FBI Director: Sony Hacker Sloppiness Helped Establish North Korea Link

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter