NSO Group Requests New Trial, Deeming $167 Million in Damages 'Outrageous'

In May, a jury ruled that spyware maker NSO Group must pay $167 million in damages to WhatsApp for a 2019 hacking campaign that targeted more than 1,400 people. Calling the damages ruling “outrageous,” “blatantly unlawful,” and “unconstitutionally excessive,” NSO Group now wants the judge overseeing the case to reduce the amount, or order a new trial. On Thursday, the company filed a motion for a new trial or a “remittitur,” which is a procedure that allows a court to reduce an excessive verdict. The filing was first reported by legal news outlets Law360 and MLex.

In the court filing, NSO Group’s lawyers said that the “outrageous punitive award exceeds the maximum lawful punitive damages award in this case by many orders of magnitude.” The lawyers argued that the amount ordered in punitive damages — the $167 million — violates limits that say the jury should not award damages “greater than four times compensatory damages,” which were $444,719 in this case. The lawyers also argued that the jury’s award is “unlawful because it reflects the improper desire to bankrupt NSO out of general hostility toward its business activities other than the limited conduct for which punitive damages could be awarded in this case.”

WhatsApp spokesperson Margarita Franklin told TechCrunch in a statement that WhatsApp will keep fighting the case.

NSO Group also said in its court filing that the amount awarded in damages “grossly exceeds NSO’s ability to pay,” and “reflects an improper desire to punish NSO.” During the trial, NSO Group already argued that it is in dire straits financially.