Fox News has made headlines very recently for a cause that they would like to forget soon enough. Let me inform you that Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit against Fox News and Fox Corp. So, now it’s Fox News Vs Dominion Voting Systems. The issue for the lawsuit was claims of fraud during the presidential election of 2020. However, the news network and its parent company have successfully averted a trial in this defamation suit and for that, they had to strike a deal with the Dominions.
The parties appeared at the Delaware Superior Court, under Judge Eric Davies. The proceedings started and right from the start, Fox was on the back foot. In fact, most of the claims made by their attorney failed to convince the judge, who is already famed for his judgements. Originally, Dominion asked for a $1.6 billion defamation bill. However, the court settled the case at nearly half of the bill. Therefore, if you wish to know more in this regard, then this article is the perfect stop for you.
The Cause Of The Lawsuit
The face-off between Fox Corp and Dominion Voting Systems has a history which goes back to the 2020 presidential election in the US. The decision desk of Fox News projected a claim on the election night that Biden would override Trump to mark a victory in the very important state of Arizona. This resulted in a sharp reaction from Trump and his advisers.
In the next few days, Jeanine Pirro, Dobbs, Bartiromo and some other stars of Fox News sided with a strange claim. The claim was that the machines of Dominion are switching the votes of Trump Biden’s credit. In addition, they also made some other voting fraud claims. However, political director Chris Stirewalt and Washington Managing Editor Bill Sammon were forced out by Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation. This was a reaction to Arizona claims. However, that was not enough to stop Dominion to file the case of defamation.
Judge Davis And The Lawsuit
From the very beginning, Judge Davis seemed deeply sceptical about the defence offered by Fox. As a result, much before the beginning of the jury trial for the case, Dominion gained the judge’s rule in their favour regarding some important points. Fox argued that the lawsuit of Dominion is in violation of the provision of free speech as stated in the First Amendment. They claimed that the voting company is accusing the news channel of accurately reporting some ‘newsworthy figures’.
However, the judge adjudged these claims to be false, leading to the defamation of Dominion. In fact, the stable and consistent demeanour of Judge Davis, which has been his trademark for years, got disturbed by the legal team of Fox. He even warned the legal team by claiming that he is feeling misled. The cause of this claim by the judge was his late discovery that Rupert Murdoch yielded more control over the coverage of the network than his position allowed.
The judge also questioned the legal team of Fox, regarding any other data or information which they have hidden from the court. He also warned the legal team of Fox against asking to save Murdoch the trouble of travelling to Washington at the age of 92, to testify in person. The judge stated that very recently Murdoch stated in the New York Post that he wishes to split his time between his four houses located in Los Angeles, London, New York City and Montana. Sighting this instance, the judge warned the legal team not to attempt to make him ‘look like an idiot’.
After such a harsh beginning, Fox News agreed to settle for a payment of around $800 million. This also saved Rupert from being questioned by the court of law.
Final Words
After the settlement, Justine Nelson, the Dominion lawyer stated that the settlement amount stands for accountability. He also stated that lies must have consequences. On the other hand, Fox News also released a statement addressing the settlement. They claimed that they are committed to the highest standards of journalism. However, John Poulos, the Dominion CEO has been clear enough in his statement. He stated that Fox admitted their act of spreading false accusations about his company. According to him, in the lawsuit, they only fought for accountability for the damage caused to his company.
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