Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP Commences Lawsuit on Behalf of News Corporation Investors

NEW YORK, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP announces that on July 19, 2011 it filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Civil Action No. 11-4947) on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of News Corporation ("News Corp" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: NWSA) who purchased during the period from March 3, 2011 through July 11, 2011 (the "Class Period").   Please call or email Nancy Kaboolian at 1-800-889-3701 or [email protected] for more information.

The defendants include: News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks. The Complaint alleges that defendants knew or were reckless in not knowing that, with the knowledge and consent of their editors, employees at News of the World, a United Kingdom newspaper run by News International, News Corp's 100% wholly owned British newspaper division have been hacking into the cell phones messages of more that 4,000 people for years.

As has been revealed, News Corp's reporters spared no one from their desire to get a story including the voicemail of a 13-year-old murder victim.  The revelation of this illegal activity set off a furious public backlash worldwide. Other victims of these intercepts include members of the Royal Family, actors, politicians and ordinary citizens who had been victims of high profile crimes and terrorist attacks.  In addition allegations have come out that reporters also tried to pay a New York City police officer to hack into the phone messages of the American families and victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.    

The Complaint further alleges that the efforts to conceal and misrepresent this illegal activity intensified with News Corp's desire to purchase the remaining 61% of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc ("BSkyB") a British satellite broadcasting company. On July 11, 2011, in a last minute attempt to salvage regulatory approval of the deal defendants withdrew its assurances that News Corp would spin off Sky News into a separate company resulting in an automatic referral to the British Competition Commission and avoiding any investigation into whether News Corp would meet the "fit and proper" test to own all of BSkyB.  On this news, News Corp's shares fell $1.27.  Ultimately, as a result of the growing phone hacking scandal News Corp was forced to withdraw its proposal for BSkyB.  

The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing material misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period thereby artificially inflating the price of News Corp securities.  

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired News Corp securities during the Class Period.  If you purchased or otherwise acquired News Corp securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff.  If you purchased News Corp securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than September 18, 2011 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.

A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs.''  Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.

Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP has been retained to represent the Class.  The attorneys at Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of over one billion dollars for investors.  If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact:

SOURCE Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP