Why Fox News Had To Settle The Dominion Suit
The $787.5 million payout reflects the fact that Dominion had put together a strong case that Fox had acted with “actual malice,” a high bar under defamation law that has historically been difficult for plaintiffs suing media outlets to satisfy. Dominion’s considerable success in this case indicates that Fox acutely understood that there was a high risk that the jury would side with Dominion on this crucial legal point. The settlement also spares the network from weeks of embarrassing testimony that would have put the widespread internal dysfunction at Fox News on full public display.
Congress should avoid imposing “unreasonable barriers to effective and responsible uses of data,” the industry group Privacy for America said in a letter sent Tuesday to House members. “Data-driven advertising, supported in large part by data services companies, fosters a competitive marketplace where small and mid-size businesses, as well as self-employed individuals, of which many are minority-owned, can compete with the economy’s largest players,” the organization writes.
The stunning settlement emerged just as opening statements were supposed to begin, abruptly ending a case that had embarrassed Fox News over several months and raised the possibility that network founder Rupert Murdoch and stars such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have to testify publicly. Pictured: Attorneys representing Dominion Voting Systems speak at a news conference outside New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Del., after the defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News was settled just as the jury trial was set to begin, Tuesday, April 18. (Matt Rourke/AP)
Dominion had asked for $1.6 billion in arguing that Fox had damaged its reputation by helping peddle phony conspiracy theories about its equipment switching votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. “The truth matters. Lies have consequences,” said Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson in a news conference outside the courthouse after the announcement.
Fox News has settled Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the Rupert Murdoch-owned organization, averting a lengthy, expensive and certain to be embarrassing trial. “The parties have resolved their case,” Delaware Superior Court judge, Eric M. Davis just told the court, offering no details. The settlement was just announced in Delaware court, right after Wall Street ceased trading for the day.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on Walt Disney World on Monday by announcing legislation that will use the regulatory powers of Florida government to exert unprecedented oversight on the park resort’s rides and monorail.
Exclusives
The scheduled trial start comes after a one-day delay granted by the judge overseeing the case, a reprieve that gave the sides time to see if they could work out a settlement. Jury selection and opening statements had been scheduled for Monday in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit. The Denver-based company aims to hold Fox accountable for airing false allegations of election fraud that continue to roil U.S. politics.
The commission is also preparing a rulemaking on ATSC 3.0 rules, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said Monday at NAB Show in Las Vegas.
Standard General and Tegna filed their reply brief asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to force the FCC to rule in their proposed merger before financing expires on May 22, effectively killing the deal. The FCC and its Media Bureau have been examining the deal since last February, an unprecedentedly lengthy review and twice as long as the FCC’s guidelines.
Without citing a reason, the Delaware judge overseeing a voting machine company’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News announced late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial until Tuesday. The trial, which has drawn international interest, had been scheduled to start Monday morning with jury selection and opening statements.
Big questions loom in the $1.6 billion trial centered on false election fraud claims Fox aired about a voting technology company.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has offered to talk about his company’s dispute with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). “I do not view this as a going-to-mattresses situation for us,” Iger said. “If the governor of Florida wants to meet with me to discuss all of this, of course, I would be glad to do that.”
Judge Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court has been evenhanded and reasonable, legal analysts say. The defamation suit is his highest-profile case.
Montana lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill that aims to ban the use of TikTok in the state, due to concerns about national security, privacy and the app’s content. Senate Bill 419m, which would take effect in January, prohibits TikTok from operating in Montana, and prohibits internet service providers and app stores from offering TikTok to users in Montana.
Mo’Nique has filed a lawsuit alleging that Paramount and CBS owe her millions in profit participation from her show The Parkers. The show ran for five seasons on UPN, from 1999 through 2004. The show’s creators — Ralph Farquhar, Sara Finney-Johnson and Vida Spears — filed a similar lawsuit last June, alleging that CBS had engaged in various forms of “financial malfeasance” to artificially inflate expenses and suppress profit payments. The network settled that case out of court in November.
With jury selection closed to the media and public, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis announced by Thursday afternoon that the interview process had produced a large enough pool from which to choose 12 jurors and 12 alternates for the defamation trial brought by Dominion Voting Systems. The seating of jurors will begin Monday morning, followed by opening statements from lawyers.
Amid ban threats, letter to CEO suggests steps that could ameliorate concerns.
PBS has not tweeted from its main Twitter handle since April 8, following Elon Musk’s decision to label the outlet “government-funded news.” PBS joins NPR, another major editorially independent outlet that receives some government funding, in halting its Twitter activity in light of the new label.
The judge presiding over a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox denied the company’s request Wednesday to hold separate trials — one for Fox News and another for the network’s parent company.
Newly revealed recordings of Maria Bartiromo’s conversations with Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and others have left a Delaware judge again upset with Fox’s legal team. Judge Eric M. Davis indicated that he would appoint a special master to investigate Fox’s representations to the court, including declarations made in December over the extent of discovery materials that have been produced to Dominion Voting Systems in their $1.6 billion defamation case. Davis said that he was “very concerned” that Fox made it seem as if it had met its discovery obligations.
She’s slotted to speak on Monday, April 17. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said: “With the FCC sitting at the forefront of so many critical issues facing our members today, this will provide a unique opportunity for broadcasters across the country to hear directly from the chairwoman on her thoughts on the state of the industry and her vision for the future.”
Attorneys defending Fox in the $1.6 billion defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems over alleged false claims about the 2020 election withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch played at Fox News, a revelation that angered the judge when it came up at a Tuesday hearing. It was not clear whether the development would affect a trial scheduled to begin Thursday with jury selection.
The Biden administration is looking to potentially regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic processes. On Tuesday (April 11), the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the White House’s chief communications policy advisory arm, put out a request for comment on just how that might come about.
We’re Here, Queen of the Universe and, of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race nudge drag toward the mainstream. But just as these shows flourish, so too does anti-drag legislation in a number of U.S. states.
