36 Victims Settle in Murdoch Phone Hacking Scandal

The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's media empire has reached settlements with 36 alleged victims of the News Corp phone hacking scandal. Politicians, a soccer player, and actor Jude Law are among those who settled out of court, for amounts ranging from $40,000 to $200,000 plus legal fees, the New York Times reports. There are 60 claims from alleged victims—and nearly 6,000 potential victims—and 10 of those who did not settle are seeking court trials starting next month.

A statement from lawyers of the alleged victims says that News Group Newspapers, which publishes some of News International's papers, agreed to compensation "on the basis that senior employees and directors … knew about the wrongdoing and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence." The statement appears to reveal that the company acknowledges a cover-up, but News International would not comment, Reuters reports. (More phone hacking scandal stories.)