Class action launched over News hacking

SYDNEY (AAP) - July 23 - A US investor in News Corporation has initiated a class action against the global media giant, alleging the company and its executives engaged in fraudulent, misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the phone-hacking scandal in the United Kingdom.
According to Fairfax newspapers, the US case has been filed in New York. It's the first federal-level lawsuit against News's US organisation to allege that the dramatic revelations in recent weeks of illegal activities inside the company's British newspaper division have damaged the group's share price.
The case has been brought against News Corp and its executive chairman, Rupert Murdoch; his son James, the deputy chief operating officer of News Corp; and Rebekah Brooks, the controversial former News of the World editor who resigned last week as News International chief executive.
The investor, Lewis Wilder, who bought $US38,000 ($A35,200) worth of shares earlier this year, has accused the Murdochs, News Corp and Ms Brooks of deliberately concealing and covering up the phone hacking.
He alleges James and Rupert Murdoch "affirmatively sanctioned or, at the very least, turned a blind eye to the rampant illegality taking place at News Corp's newspapers".
The US case must be certified by the court before it can proceed as a class action.
The case was filed on July 19, and News Corp has not yet filed a defence.