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☆ Newsmax and Smartmatic settle 2020 election defamation case on eve of trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The pro-Trump cable outlet Newsmax and voting technology company Smartmatic settled a major 2020 election defamation lawsuit Thursday in a last-minute agreement to avoid a high-stakes trial. But in the run-up to the trial, Smartmatic’s hand weakened significantly, further raising the possibility of a settlement. Smartmatic has claimed that the lies promoted by Newsmax, Fox News, and other Trump allies destroyed its reputation and cost the company billions of dollars. However, as the Newsmax trial approached, Smartmatic’s lawyers reduced the company’s damages claim to approximately $370 million, according to statements in court. It often makes sense to settle rather than pay the expenses of a trial and possible appeals.”The settlement is the latest in a string of 2020 election defamation cases to reach an out-of-court agreement before trial.

Persons: Smartmatic, Newsmax, Erik Connolly, ” Connolly, “ Smartmatic, Donald Trump, ” Howard Cooper, Trump, Eric Davis, ”, Eric Robinson Organizations: Trump, Smartmatic, Newsmax, Fox News, University of South, Dominion, Systems, News, Fox Corporation, Fox Locations: Wilmington , Delaware, . Delaware, ”, University of South Carolina

☆ Newsmax faces ‘bet-your-company’ defamation trial over 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —Jury selection is set to begin Thursday in a closely watched defamation trial pitting voting technology company Smartmatic against the right-wing cable network Newsmax, in a high-stakes case over the airing of false 2020 election claims. The Newsmax case revolves around the same false claims, championed by former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, that the 2020 election was rigged by Smartmatic software and others. The Florida-based company sued Newsmax and other right-wing outlets and figures in 2021, alleging that its reputation was destroyed by the lies. The Newsmax case will test the legal limits of publishing lies about the 2020 election, and the trial will play out during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign. ‘Dozens’ of defamatory reportsAfter mainstream news outlets – and even Fox News – projected that Democratic nominee Joe Biden would win the 2020 election, Trump and his surrogates falsely claimed that he won.

Persons: Donald Trump, Newsmax, “, ”, ” Howard Cooper, Eric Davis, Davis, it’s, Katie Townsend, Smartmatic, Joe Biden, Trump, Chris Ruddy, Biden, wasn’t, Sidney Powell, ” Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Silbiger, Greg Kelly, Powell, Chris Salcedo, Smartmatic “, John Bachman, Smartmatic’s, Bachman, Liz Harrington, Ruddy, Kelly, Salcedo, Eric Robinson, ” Newsmax, Bill Daddi, ” Smartmatic’s, Erik Connolly, “ …, Bob Sellers, Emerald Robinson Organizations: Washington CNN, Delaware Superior Court, Fox News, Voting Systems, Republican, Trump, Freedom, Press, Fox, Democratic, The Washington Post, Republican National Committee, ”, Newsmax, University of South, Electoral College ” Locations: Delaware Superior, The Florida, Wilmington , Delaware, New York, Los Angeles County, University of South Carolina, Philippines, Venezuela

A Delaware judge agreed to send another 2020 election defamation case to trial Thursday, ruling that the Newsmax Media published false claims saying Smartmatic voting machines rigged the 2020 election. Florida-based voting machine company Smartmatic, alleging defamation, sued Newsmax Media, also based in Florida, in 2021, arguing that the network claimed its devices rigged the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was rigged. But in wins for Smartmatic, he ruled firmly that the rigged election claims were definitely false, published by Newsmax and specific to Smartmatic. Smartmatic's case is quite different, in large part because the voting machine company was used only in Los Angeles during the 2020 election.

Persons: Newsmax, Smartmatic, Eric Davis, Donald Trump, Davis, ” Davis, “, ” Erik Connolly, Smartmatic’s Organizations: Media, Associated Press, Newsmax Media, Smartmatic, Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News, One America News Network Locations: Delaware, Florida, Los Angeles

☆ Smartmatic’s case against Newsmax over 2020 election lies will proceed to trial this month, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Instead, Davis concluded that key questions about Newsmax’s actions in 2020 would be weighed by a jury, barring a pre-trial settlement. “Newsmax reported on allegations regarding the Election and Smartmatic, but there remains a dispute as to whether Newsmax recklessly disregarded the truth,” Davis wrote. “With these facts, a reasonable jury could find Newsmax was reporting on a matter of public concern without endorsing the allegations surrounding the Election,” Davis wrote. If the outlet doesn’t settle, its executives and on-air personalities could be forced to publicly testify about their contacts with Trump during the 2020 election and their controversial post-election coverage. The judge also went out of his way to make clear that nothing in his ruling is meant to suggest that there was anything questionable or illegitimate about the 2020 election results.

Persons: Newsmax, Eric Davis, Newsmax’s, Davis, “ Newsmax, ” Davis, “, Smartmatic, Donald Trump, ”, Erik Connolly Organizations: Washington CNN, Delaware, Newsmax, Trump, Dominion Voting Systems, CNN Locations: Los Angeles County, Los Angeles

☆ Judge schedules Newsmax case over 2020 election lies for September trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A judge has scheduled a major defamation case against right-wing cable channel Newsmax to go to trial in late September, putting the battle over 2020 election lies front-and-center at the peak of the 2024 campaign. A trial could have significant implications for the First Amendment and how journalists cover Trump’s election lies. The conservative network doesn’t attract a large audience like Fox News, but Newsmax’s ratings surged after the 2020 election. In addition to the Newsmax case, Smartmatic is also suing Fox News, the fringe far-right cable channel OAN and Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, who peddled the same election lies. But there were delays in that case, creating an opening for the Smartmatic case.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump’s, Smartmatic, Joe Biden, Eric Davis, Davis, Newsmax, “ Newsmax, … Newsmax, ’, Trump’s, ”, Bill Daddi, Christopher Ruddy, Fox, Eric Bolling, Greta Van Susteren, Sebastian Gorka, Clinton, Dick Morris, Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell Organizations: CNN, Dominion Voting Systems, Trump, Delaware Superior Court, Dominion, Fox News, Fox, Trump White House Locations: Delaware Superior

☆ Right-wing outlets facing 2020 election defamation lawsuits may have found a key defense overseas
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An alleged bribery scheme in the Philippines has thrown a potential lifeline to Fox News and other right-wing media outlets that are battling massive defamation lawsuits from the voting technology company Smartmatic for their promotion of 2020 election lies. The overseas scandal washed ashore last year when the Justice Department charged the Philippines’ former election commissioner with money laundering. Since then, Fox News, Newsmax and OAN have seized on the allegations, attempting to obtain new documents about potential wrongdoing by Smartmatic that could boost their defense. None of the allegations levied by US prosecutors in court filings pertain to vote-flipping or alleged rigging of election results. Last year, Fox paid a historic $787 million settlement with another election technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, for its promotion of similar election lies.

Persons: CNN —, Smartmatic, Newsmax, Donald Trump, Andres Bautista, Bautista, Fox, Nicolas Maduro, —, Smartmatic “, ”, Trump, “ Smartmatic, ” OAN, Eric Davis, OAN, “, OAN –, ” Smartmatic, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Justice Department, Trump, OAN, Philippine, Smartmatic, Fox, Dominion Voting, Lawyers Locations: Philippines, California, Venezuela, Manila, Smartmatic, Miami, Delaware, Brazil, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Kenya, Oman, Switzerland, Taiwan

☆ Fox’s top lawyer blasts judge in Dominion case, says trial would’ve been ‘months of utter pain’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Viet Dinh, former Chief Legal and Policy Officer for Fox Corporation. Dinh said Davis issued “really illogical” rulings in the pretrial phase, which “hamstrung” Fox’s defense strategy. This artist sketch depicts Judge Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court on the bench Monday, April 17, 2023, in Wilmington, Delaware. Elizabeth Williams/APThe judge ruled that none of Fox’s on-air statements about Dominion were true and rejected Fox’s attempts to throw the case out. Dominion made many of these messages public through court filings, and they painted an incredibly damning picture of Fox News.

Persons: CNN —, Viet Dinh, Eric Davis, ” Dinh, –, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Fox, Dinh, Davis, ”, Eric Davis of, Elizabeth Williams, Fox’s, Tucker Carlson, “ Organizations: CNN, Fox, Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Corporation, Delaware, Harvard Law, ” Dominion, Fox News, Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court, Dominion, Harvard Locations: Viet, Delaware, Wilmington , Delaware, Smartmatic

But the challenge facing Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee in Georgia is unlike any of the others. For one, he is the only judge so far to allow television cameras in the courtroom to broadcast hearings and any trials. And the trials will play out in a battleground state that Trump narrowly lost in 2020. But the experience of some judges who have been thrust into the public eye point to potential pitfalls and dangers ahead for the 34-year-old Georgia native. “Hopefully, you have a life outside the law,” Cahill said during his talk in Reno about handling high-profile cases.

Persons: Peter Cahill, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, you’re, ”, Donald Trump, Scott McAfee, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, McAfee, Aileen Cannon, Reggie Walton, Lewis ” Scooter, Libby, Dick Cheney, Roger Clemens, “, Lance Ito, Simpson, Critics, Jay Leno ”, Elizabeth Scherer, Nikolas Cruz, Cruz, Scherer, Eric Davis, Tanya Chutkan, Ito, Judy, he's, Han Chung, Chung, Trump's, E, Susan Garsh, Aaron Hernandez, ” Garsh, Fani Willis, Trump, Willis, — Chutkan, Barack Obama, Juan Manuel Merchan, Merchan, Chutkan, Brian Kemp, Kemp, ” Cahill Organizations: ATLANTA, Minnesota, National Judicial College, New York, Trump White House, Trump, Georgia, Senior, Associated Press, Los Angeles Superior, Delaware, Systems, Fox News, American Bar Association, U.S, New Yorker, McAfee, Massachusetts, New England Patriots, AP, Patriots, University of Georgia, Republican, Federalist Society, Emory University, Georgia Aquarium Locations: Minneapolis, Reno , Nevada, Fulton, Georgia, U.S, Florida, Los, Parkland, Washington, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Reno

☆ Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation suit against Newsmax over election lies set for September 2024 trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Newsmax over the right-wing network’s airing of 2020 election lies is scheduled to go to trial in late September 2024, a Delaware judge decided. The decision by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis means — barring an out-of-court settlement — Trump’s lies about the 2020 election will be front and center at a four-week trial during the closing weeks of the 2024 election. Davis presided over a similar high-profile defamation case brought by Dominion against Fox News over the network’s airing of election lies. The case ended in April with a last-second $787 million settlement, the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history. Newsmax is also facing a massive defamation suit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that was accused by right-wing figures of rigging the 2020 election.

Persons: Newsmax, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Eric Davis, Davis, Dominion “, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, Trump, “ Organizations: CNN, Dominion, Delaware, Fox News, Newsmax, Trump Locations: Delaware, Biden’s

☆ Fox says it settled Dominion lawsuit to ‘buy peace,’ as it tries to block release of more material in the case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Fox said in a court filing Wednesday that it settled the monster defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million to “buy peace,” and strongly opposed motions to unseal additional redacted material in the case. “It would create profoundly perverse incentives the next time parties are encouraged to settle a high-profile trial,” Mowery added. Fox has redacted significant swaths of the material, which news outlets have objected to. Days after Fox settled the lawsuit with Dominion, the company fired its star prime time host, the right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson. “It was three against one, at least,” Carlson wrote in the hours after the Jan. 6 attack.

[1/3] Dominion lawyers embrace after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled the defamation lawsuit over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., April 18, 2023. At least 31 lawyers from nine different law firms worked on the case, court filings show. It was not immediately clear how large a share of the settlement the firm would receive in legal fees. The filings do not include recent costs associated with preparing for trial or the success fees lawyers could earn from the settlement. Fox News also hired Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, top appeals court lawyers who have advocated for conservative causes at the U.S. Supreme Court.

☆ Opinion | Did Fox News Just Pay for the Privilege of Continued Corruption?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The settlement reflects Fox’s abandonment of even the most minimal journalistic standards. The headline stated that “Fox News Media, Dominion Voting Systems reach agreement over defamation lawsuit,” but it didn’t state the amount of the settlement and instead mainly focused on the judge’s compliments of Fox’s legal team. Some of them, including members of his legal team, made false and unsubstantiated claims against Dominion Voting Systems and are the subject of separate defamation lawsuits. In the meantime, many of the viewers who keep the company so very profitable won’t know anything meaningful about the Dominion settlement or Fox’s lies — because Fox won’t tell them. While this newsletter is admittedly rather bleak even in the face of Fox’s decisive court defeat, the story is far from over.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show "Your World" about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right. ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDINGAdding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

☆ What’s next for Fox and Dominion? More lawsuits seeking accountability for corrosive 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ blockbuster defamation case against Fox News is over after the right-wing network cuts a check for a staggering $787 million, but there’s still an avalanche of pending lawsuits that are seeking accountability from the right-wing figures who championed false claims about the 2020 election. Smartmatic, another voting technology company, sued Fox for defamation following the 2020 election and is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and other defendants. Dominion still has a bevy of pending lawsuits against 2020 election deniers. “All of those decisions will have a huge bearing on those lawsuits as they play out,” Dominion lawyer Davida Brook told CNN Tuesday night. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson added in a CNN interview that the Fox News settlement “sends a message to the other seven lawsuits that accountability is coming.”

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading after the settlement amount was disclosed. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand. [1/5] Dominion CEO John Poulos and lawyers speak to the media after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial, over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Delaware Superior Court, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. April 18, 2023. Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.

November 15, 2020 -- Fox’s daytime average audience reaches a 35% decline since the eve of the election, according to statistics cited in Dominion's lawsuit. March 26, 2021 -- Dominion sues Fox News in Delaware Superior Court. March 31, 2023 -- Davis rules that the statements aired on Fox were false, defamatory and not covered by legal protections for the press under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. April 12, 2023 -- Davis sanctions Fox after it was revealed that the network failed to turn over relevant recordings and transcripts until the eve of trial. April 16, 2023 -- Davis delays trial by one day without giving a reason, but two sources told Reuters that Fox and Dominion were holding last-minute settlement talks.

☆ Fox News settles with Dominion, averting defamation trial over its 2020 election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —The judge just announced in court that a settlement has been reached in the historic defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. “The parties have resolved their case,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said. By settling with Dominion, influential Fox News executives and prominent on-air personalities will be spared from testifying about their 2020 election coverage, which was filled with lies about voter fraud. They denied Dominion’s claim that they promoted these election conspiracies to save their falling ratings after the 2020 election. While the Dominion case is now over, Fox News is still facing a second major defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that was smeared on Fox shows after the 2020 election.

A person walks past Fox News Headquarters at the News Corporation building on May 03, 2022 in New York City. - Fox Corp. and its cable networks agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims that Dominion's machines swayed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The suit by Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, had argued that Fox News and its sister network Fox Business "intentionally and falsely" blamed Dominion for the 2020 loss of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims about the company. Fox had said in court filings that its hosts' statements about Dominion were protected by the First Amendment. The company also said Dominion had not shown that the statements were made with so-called actual malice, which is the threshold for civil defamation claims.

A person walks by Fox News signage posted on the News Corporation building in New York City, April 12, 2023WILMINGTON, Del. — Opening arguments were delayed Tuesday in the Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of spreading the damaging falsehood that the company rigged the 2020 election. The person, a Fox News representative, was forced to delete the photos and permanently exit the courtroom. The Fox representative misunderstood the courtroom rules and apologized, adding that the pictures were deleted immediately, the company told CNBC. I'm not going to give you an extra day," Davis told attorneys for both camps.

A Fox victory — after it limped into trial amid a series of legal setbacks — would be a major triumph for the network. “In the coming weeks, we will prove Fox spread lies causing enormous damage to Dominion. We look forward to trial,” a Dominion spokesperson said in a statement on the eve of trial. Pretrial dramaThus far, Fox News has faced an uphill battle in court, as the case careened toward trial. The outcome of the trial, however, is not likely to dramatically change the dishonest way in which Fox News operates.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the widely anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial by one day, moving it from Monday to Tuesday. He didn’t explain the reasons for the move.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters that Fox was seeking a possible settlement. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also reported that Fox was pursuing settlement talks, citing sources. Dominion is suing Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News in a defamation lawsuit over the network's coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. An expert report commissioned by Dominion attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox's coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.

April 16 (Reuters) - A judge in Delaware on Sunday delayed by one day the start of trial in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp (FOXA.O), a courthouse spokesperson said. "The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E," said Judge Eric Davis, according to the statement. Davis had said on Thursday he expected to conclude jury selection on Monday and proceed to opening statements. The trial is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in years, involving a leading cable news outlet with numerous conservative commentators.

☆ Dominion defamation trial against Fox to proceed Tuesday after delay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News. Rupert Murdoch, the chair of Fox Corp, is set to testify during the trial, along with a parade of Fox executives and on-air hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. Fox's filing cited a Friday email from a Dominion lawyer saying that Dominion would not pursue its lost profit claim at the trial. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. Fox has also said that Dominion cannot pin actual malice on the individuals Dominion has said were responsible for the defamatory statements.

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