Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Faces More Lawsuits Amid Phone Hacking Scandal

7:42 AM PDT 8/4/2011 by Georg Szalai

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Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images

About 35 privacy invasion suits have been filed as the conglomerate's U.K. newspaper unit has set aside $24.4 million- $32.6 million to cover the cost of civil litigation.

NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. faces a growing number of civil lawsuits related to the phone hacking scandal, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Former News of The World Managing Editor Stuart Kuttner Arrested in Phone-Hacking Inquiry

•Rupert Murdoch

About 35 privacy invasion suits have been filed against the News of the World, the recently shuttered tabloid, according to the Journal, which is also owned by News Corp. That is up from about two dozen lawsuits in April.

As part of a police probe, a growing number of people have been informed that they may have been a phone-hacking victim.

The media conglomerate's U.K .newspaper unit News International has set aside £15 million-£20 million ($24.4 million- $32.6 million) to cover the cost of the civil litigation, including for legal settlements, the Journal said.

News International in April admitted liability in eight civil suits. Two of them have been settled or otherwise resolved, according to the paper.

Sir Charles Gray, a former High Court judge brought in by News Corp. to oversee settlement awards, said he hopes to begin processing claims next month.