Appeals court affirms Richard Garriott’s lawsuit win against NCsoft

by Justin Olivetti  on Oct 25th 2011 11:30AM

MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

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Ever since Richard Garriott won his lawsuit against former employer NCsoft last year, the legal process has been grinding on ever since to hash out the details. Today we’ve learned that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the win of almost $32 million in favor of Garriott.

The lawsuit came about after NCsoft fired Garriott in 2008 and then marked his departure as “voluntary,” causing his stock options to expire instead of remaining intact through the end of his 2011 contract. In 2010 a court found NCsoft to have breached its contract, and ordered the company to pay $28 million plus interest and attorney fees to Garriott and his legal team. This recent ruling affirms that outcome and paves the path for Garriott to be compensated.

In the ruling, the 5th Circuit Court writes, “It would be unjust to allow NCsoft to sit back during trial, observe Garriott’s litigation strategy, and then demand a new trial on damages when it dislikes the verdict.”

[Source: Androvett Legal Media press release]

SOE accounts hacked.. again.

Hackers compromise 33,000 SOE accounts

by Justin Olivetti  on Oct 12th 2011 7:00AM

MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

Sony’s hacking woes continue today, as intruders today have attempted — and, in some cases, succeeded — to access the giant corporation’s accounts. Chief Information Security Officer Philip Reitingerposted a letter on several SOE forums informing players that their accounts may have been compromised.

The good news is that less than 0.1% of Sony’s entire playerbase has been affected. The bad news is that that leaves around 33,000 SOE players — in addition to Sony Entertainment Network and PlayStation Network customers — whose accounts were hacked. Following the intrusion, Sony temporarily locked the accounts and is investigating the situation.

"Only a small fraction of these 93,000 accounts showed additional activity prior to being locked," Reitinger said. He assured customers that credit card numbers were not leaked and that any purchases made during this intrusion will be restored. SOE customers with locked accounts will receive an email with instructions on how to validate their credentials and restore their service.

[source]