Post by kittylady on Apr 18, 2023 23:31:13 GMT
Fox News settles Dominion defamation case for $787.5m
Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company, Dominion, over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.
In a last-minute settlement before the trial, the network agreed to pay $787.5m (£644m) - about half the $1.6bn initially sought by Dominion.
Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims the vote had been rigged against Donald Trump.
The deal spares Fox executives such as Rupert Murdoch from having to testify.
In a statement, Fox said Tuesday's settlement in one of the most anticipated defamation trials in recent US history reflected its "commitment to the highest journalistic standards".
Dominion chief executive John Poulos told a press conference the deal included Fox "admitting to telling lies, causing enormous damage to my company".
Justin Nelson, a Dominion attorney, told reporters that "the truth matters".
"Lies have consequences," he added. "Over two years ago a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country."
Mr Nelson added that for "democracy to endure", Americans must "share a commitment to facts".
Opening arguments in the case had been due to start on Tuesday afternoon.
The announcement of a settlement came after an unexplained delay of several hours once jury selection had finished, prompting speculation that talks were under way behind the scenes.
On Monday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis announced that the start of the trial would be delayed by 24 hours.
Although he gave no reason, US media reported that it was to give both sides an opportunity to reach a settlement.
On Tuesday morning, however, both sides appeared to be digging in for a lengthy trial.
Ahead of the trial, attorneys for Fox repeatedly objected to the $1.6bn in damages that Colorado-based Dominion was seeking, and characterised the figure as massively inflated.
The "real cost" of the case, Fox said, would be the "cherished" rights to freedom of speech and of the press enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Dominion's lawsuit argued that the conservative network had sullied the electronic voting company's reputation by airing falsehoods about the 2020 vote being stolen from former President Trump.
Legal findings released ahead of the trial suggested that a number of Fox executives and journalists privately questioned conspiracy claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but still put them on air.
In one series of text messages, top-rated host Tucker Carlson said some of the claims were both "absurd" and "insane", while another host, Sean Hannity, said privately he did not believe them "for one second".
Fox has said the words were taken out of context.
Ahead of the trial, Judge Davis ruled that the claims against Dominion had already been proven false.
A good outcome for Fox?
Despite the mammoth pay-out, some legal experts believe the settlement was overall a positive outcome for the network.
Syracuse University professor and First Amendment expert Roy Gutterman said that Fox "was facing even more public scrutiny of its post-election coverage and what went into its news operation".
"Looking down the line at a six-week trial, this was going to be gruelling for everyone involved and likely embarrassing for Fox," he said.
"But a verdict against Fox could have been even costlier, and had serious implications on subsequent rulings on the actual malice standard and the First Amendment itself."
Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel told the BBC that the settlement "speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from this litigation".
"It's hard to say how damaging a decision against Fox would have been for the company beyond the financial cost of the verdict, because their audience is very loyal," she said.
"But the reputational harm of having executives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the parties towards a resolution," Ms Tuegel added.
Fox still faces a second, similar defamation lawsuit from another election technology firm, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7bn.
Dominion still has legislation pending against two conservative news networks, OAN and Newsmax.
The company has also sued Trump allies such as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.
Source: BBC News
Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company, Dominion, over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.
In a last-minute settlement before the trial, the network agreed to pay $787.5m (£644m) - about half the $1.6bn initially sought by Dominion.
Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims the vote had been rigged against Donald Trump.
The deal spares Fox executives such as Rupert Murdoch from having to testify.
In a statement, Fox said Tuesday's settlement in one of the most anticipated defamation trials in recent US history reflected its "commitment to the highest journalistic standards".
Dominion chief executive John Poulos told a press conference the deal included Fox "admitting to telling lies, causing enormous damage to my company".
Justin Nelson, a Dominion attorney, told reporters that "the truth matters".
"Lies have consequences," he added. "Over two years ago a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country."
Mr Nelson added that for "democracy to endure", Americans must "share a commitment to facts".
Opening arguments in the case had been due to start on Tuesday afternoon.
The announcement of a settlement came after an unexplained delay of several hours once jury selection had finished, prompting speculation that talks were under way behind the scenes.
On Monday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis announced that the start of the trial would be delayed by 24 hours.
Although he gave no reason, US media reported that it was to give both sides an opportunity to reach a settlement.
On Tuesday morning, however, both sides appeared to be digging in for a lengthy trial.
Ahead of the trial, attorneys for Fox repeatedly objected to the $1.6bn in damages that Colorado-based Dominion was seeking, and characterised the figure as massively inflated.
The "real cost" of the case, Fox said, would be the "cherished" rights to freedom of speech and of the press enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Dominion's lawsuit argued that the conservative network had sullied the electronic voting company's reputation by airing falsehoods about the 2020 vote being stolen from former President Trump.
Legal findings released ahead of the trial suggested that a number of Fox executives and journalists privately questioned conspiracy claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but still put them on air.
In one series of text messages, top-rated host Tucker Carlson said some of the claims were both "absurd" and "insane", while another host, Sean Hannity, said privately he did not believe them "for one second".
Fox has said the words were taken out of context.
Ahead of the trial, Judge Davis ruled that the claims against Dominion had already been proven false.
A good outcome for Fox?
Despite the mammoth pay-out, some legal experts believe the settlement was overall a positive outcome for the network.
Syracuse University professor and First Amendment expert Roy Gutterman said that Fox "was facing even more public scrutiny of its post-election coverage and what went into its news operation".
"Looking down the line at a six-week trial, this was going to be gruelling for everyone involved and likely embarrassing for Fox," he said.
"But a verdict against Fox could have been even costlier, and had serious implications on subsequent rulings on the actual malice standard and the First Amendment itself."
Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel told the BBC that the settlement "speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from this litigation".
"It's hard to say how damaging a decision against Fox would have been for the company beyond the financial cost of the verdict, because their audience is very loyal," she said.
"But the reputational harm of having executives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the parties towards a resolution," Ms Tuegel added.
Fox still faces a second, similar defamation lawsuit from another election technology firm, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7bn.
Dominion still has legislation pending against two conservative news networks, OAN and Newsmax.
The company has also sued Trump allies such as Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.
Source: BBC News
