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☆ 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.

Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion civil defamation lawsuit against Fox News has been delayed on the eve of its scheduled start date, an official for the court hearing the case said Sunday. Spokespeople for Fox and Dominion did not immediately provide statements when asked for comment after the delay was announced Sunday night. Fox has argued that Dominion has not met the legal standard for defamation, and that the statements made about Dominion on its air were protected by the First Amendment. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Sunday evening that Fox has made a last-minute push to settle the lawsuit out of court. But as recently as Saturday, the possibility of Dominion and Fox avoiding trial seemed as unlikely as ever.

Fox has said Dominion cannot prove that the network knowingly spread falsehoods or recklessly disregarded the truth, the legal standard of "actual malice" that plaintiffs in defamation lawsuits must meet. Fox is now largely limited to arguing that Dominion cannot prove actual malice. Fox has called Dominion's lawsuit an assault on the free press and framed its stance in the case as a defense of journalism and diversity of ideas in the public square. Fox has attacked the credibility of Dominion's damages estimate, saying it is based upon unrealistic growth projections and faulty assumptions. An expert report commissioned by the company attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox's coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the eagerly 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.

☆ Fox News apologizes to judge in defamation case for failing to disclose Rupert Murdoch's role at the network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News apologized to the Delaware judge presiding over the Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit for failing to properly define Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's formal role at the network, according to a letter filed with the court. "We understand the Court's concerns, apologize, and are committed to clear and full communication with the Court moving forward," Fox attorney Blake Rohrbacher wrote in the letter Friday. Dominion Voting Systems brought its defamation lawsuit against Fox and its TV networks, Fox News and Fox Business, in March 2021, arguing its hosts pushed false claims that Dominion's voting machines were rigged in the 2020 presidential election that saw President Joe Biden triumph over former President Donald Trump. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis expressed frustration with the network Tuesday for its failure to accurately disclose Murdoch's leadership role there. Fox lawyers had repeatedly claimed Murdoch did not have an official title at Fox News, only to later reveal that he serves as the Fox News Executive Chair.

☆ What to know ahead of the Fox News and Dominion trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —A trial in a defamation suit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems is set to begin this week. Here are 5 things to know ahead of the trial. Fox was trying to block Dominion from having the Murdochs on the witness stand. Fox Corporation, the right-wing news outlet’s owner, has an estimated $4 billion in cash on hand, according to its latest earnings statement. Though major figures at Fox privately acknowledged reality – that former President Donald Trump had lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 – Fox continued to air conspiracies and lies in order to keep its large audience engaged.

☆ Dominion’s case against Fox News goes to trial next week. Is the First Amendment really on the line?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

But even by the standards of the profession, the language in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News has been downright apocalyptic. A victory for Dominion against Fox, they say, could wreak havoc for other journalism organizations across the country. The sheer closeness between Trump and Fox News makes a case like this unlikely to harm journalism organizations down the line, Goodale said. The vast majority of defamation cases against media organizations are settled, which gives few high-profile precedents to the Dominion lawsuit. "And that's the balance that the Sullivan court strike tried to strike in 1964.

Fox has argued that Dominion cherry-picked evidence to mischaracterize the network's coverage decisions, which it said were reasonable because election-rigging claims by the president's lawyers were inherently newsworthy. Fox has said it also gave Dominion's side of the story by airing its denials. The Fox Corp chairman is set to take the witness stand, along with other executives including Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott. The trial is also due to include testimony from a parade of conservative-leaning Fox hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. Fox has attacked the credibility of Dominion's damages estimate, saying it is based upon unrealistic growth projections and faulty assumptions.

Fox has argued in legal filings that Dominion’s $1.6 billion damages request is “untethered from reality” and designed to enrich the company’s investors. In Delaware, attorneys are not allowed to speak directly with potential jurors. The streamlined process allows for jury selection to happen more quickly than it does in some other states: Davis has allotted two days. But it also means both sides will have a harder time trying to identify prospective jurors’ political views, which could be relevant in this case, said Gomez. “Will the facts of the case actually matter to them if they have that underlying belief?”The questions are limited to prospective jurors’ experience rather than their attitudes.

☆ Dominion: Jury selection to begin in defamation trial against Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Jury selection is set to begin Thursday in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation trial against Fox News over the right-wing network’s promotion of debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. The high-stakes trial — which will put a spotlight on Fox’s 2020 election denialism and the role of disinformation in American politics — is expected to last about six weeks. The case revolves around Fox’s decision, after Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, to allow haywire conspiracy theories about Dominion onto its airwaves. Dominion has argued that Fox destroyed its reputation as a trusted voting technology company by repeatedly amplifying these false claims. Fox News says it didn’t defame Dominion and maintains that it is still “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.

☆ Fox News will be investigated for withholding evidence in the Dominion lawsuit, could face sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The judge overseeing the Fox-Dominion defamation case sanctioned the network for withholding evidence. This happened the day after a disclosure that Fox lawyers withheld information about Rupert Murdoch's role at the media company. (AP) — The judge presiding over a defamation case against Fox News said Wednesday he likely will order an independent review to determine whether the network improperly withheld evidence, a step that could lead to sanctions. That came after the disclosure a day earlier that Fox lawyers had withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch, who is chairman of Fox. Dominion alleges that Fox damaged the company by repeatedly airing false allegations that its machines and the software they used rigged the 2020 presidential election to prevent Trump's re-election.

☆ Dominion judge likely to appoint special master to investigate if Fox withheld evidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

This is very serious,” Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Wednesday at a pretrial hearing in Wilmington. The special master will look into what sanctions might be appropriate against Fox, including potentially instructing jurors in the case that Fox inappropriately blocked Dominion from obtaining key evidence. The judge ordered Fox to preserve “any and all communications” related to the Murdoch issue. Fox denies wrongdoing and says it properly disclosed Murdoch’s roles in its public financial filings. Fox attorney Dan Webb said Wednesday that “nobody intentionally withheld information” from Dominion.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis issued the sanction after Dominion's lawyers revealed instances in which Fox's attorneys did not turn over evidence in a timely manner, the Times reported. Fox said in a statement that it "produced the supplemental information" to Dominion "when we first learned it." Dominion sued Fox News and parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O) in 2021. Grossberg said in her latest filing that she has tapes of former Trump lawyers, including Giuliani, conceding they lacked evidence for their claims. As a Fox News officer, Murdoch would likely have been subject to more probing discovery by Dominion.

☆ Dominion can’t bring up January 6 at Fox News defamation trial, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems can’t bring up the January 6 insurrection during its upcoming defamation trial against Fox News, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday, who also revealed at a hearing that he has been receiving death threats. The judge ruled that Fox can’t bring up broadcasts where reporters accurately fact-checked Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, to prove that other broadcasts that amplified those lies weren’t defamatory. The judge also ruled that Fox can’t use internal Dominion emails where its staffers said their products “suck” and were “riddled with bugs,” to prove that there were real concerns about Dominion machines, and therefore Fox didn’t defame Dominion. The judge overseeing Dominion’s case against Fox News also revealed Tuesday that he has received death threats. If Dominion wins, it wants Fox to pay for the beefed-up security measures that it implemented after 2020.

On Monday, Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp (FOXA.O) head to trial over Fox's coverage of false election-rigging claims. Fox News had disclaimed that Murdoch was a company officer, which shaped how Dominion litigated the case, according to Nelson. As a Fox News officer, Murdoch would likely have been subject to more probing discovery by Dominion. A Fox lawyer told the hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, that Murdoch disclosed the title in a February deposition and he called the title "honorific." Superior Court Judge Eric Davis called the delayed disclosure "bizarre" and chided Fox attorneys for having made representations that Murdoch wasn't an officer of Fox News, only to reverse on the eve of trial.

Dominion asserts that Fox's top brass approved of the coverage, but the network says the evidence of high-level involvement is threadbare. The jury pool will be drawn from New Castle County, Delaware, where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two-to-one, according to the state's Department of Elections. The network says scattered doubts about the claims among certain individuals cannot be attributed to the organization as a whole. "I think (Fox is) trying to argue that the employees themselves did not have that necessary mental state," said UNC's Papandrea. "But it's tricky when the organization itself has relevant information that would cast doubt on the veracity of the statements about Dominion."

☆ Judge in Fox News Defamation Trial Says He Would Require Rupert Murdoch to Testify
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Delaware judge said Wednesday that Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch can’t avoid testifying in person in a looming defamation trial about false election-fraud claims that aired on Fox News. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said during a pretrial hearing that if plaintiff Dominion Voting Systems issues a trial subpoena for Mr. Murdoch to testify, he “would not quash it.” The same goes for Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch , Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh and former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan , who sits on the Fox board, Judge Davis said.

☆ Dominion can force Murdochs to testify at Fox News defamation trial, judge says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Washington, DC CNN —Dominion Voting Systems can force Fox Corporation executives Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch to testify on the witness stand at this month’s scheduled defamation trial, a Delaware judge said Wednesday. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said at a hearing that if Dominion subpoenas the Murdochs to testify in person, he would not quash those subpoenas, and the Murdochs would need to show up. “They are relevant to the case… if Dominion wants to bring them live, they need to issue a trial subpoena, and I would not quash it,” Davis said. He added that “it would be my discretion that they come” to testify in-person at the trial, which is scheduled to begin later this month in Wilmington, Delaware. Fox News denies wrongdoing and says the case is a meritless assault against the First Amendment.

Companies Fox Corp FollowRupert Murdoch FollowWILMINGTON, Del, April 5 (Reuters) - Fox Corp (FOXA.O) executives Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch can be called to testify at this month's defamation trial over a $1.6 billion lawsuit claiming the media company lied about voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a judge said on Wednesday. Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old chair of Fox Corp, and his son, Lachlan Murdoch, its CEO, were not on the list of witnesses that Fox intends to make available for the trial, in a case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. Davis said Fox board member Paul Ryan, a former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, could also be issued a trial subpoena. The judge said there was an objection by Fox to Rupert Murdoch's testimony which would probably have to be resolved at trial. The trial already features a parade of Fox's biggest on-air personalities, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo.

☆ Dominion urges judge to compel Murdochs to testify live in Fox trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dominion Voting Systems urged a Delaware judge to compel Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, to appear live in court during the upcoming trial over its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks. In a letter to Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday, Dominion urged the judge to compel both Murdochs to appear live. In earlier court papers Dominion did not included the Murdochs on its list for live testimony, although it had been earlier discussed in court. Fox had opposed Murdoch, as well as the other Fox Corp. executives, giving their testimony live in court. They had also pointed to the elder Murdoch's age, 92, as a reason for why he couldn't appear live in court.

☆ Fox News says Carlson, Hannity, Bartiromo set to testify at defamation trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Fox personality Tucker Carlson speaks at the 2017 Business Insider Ignition: Future of Media conference in New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old chair of Fox's parent Fox Corp (FOXA.O), is not on Fox's witness list. The Denver-based company has said emails, texts and depositions show that Fox aired false election claims to boost profit and keep viewers from defecting to the right-wing outlets Newsmax and OAN, which also embraced Trump's claims. "The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that (it) is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," he wrote. Fox faces a similar lawsuit by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied motions from Fox and partially granted Dominion motions to resolve the issue of defamation liability ahead of the scheduled April 17 trial date. The ruling puts the high-profile case in the hands of a jury that will determine whether Fox acted with actual malice and whether Dominion suffered any damages. The judge ruled in Dominion's favor on some elements of defamation including that the allegedly defamatory statements by Fox concerned Dominion, that the statements had been published by Fox and were false. Davis, however, said in his ruling the doctrine would not shield Fox from liability, because the network did not conduct disinterested reporting. Fox faces a similar lawsuit by voting-technology company Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox Corp, the cable network, Fox hosts and guests.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied motions from Fox and partially granted Dominion motions to resolve the issue of defamation liability in each side's favor - summary judgment - ahead of the scheduled April 17 trial date. A jury will determine whether Fox acted with actual malice and whether Dominion suffered any damages, according to the ruling. The judge ruled in Dominion's favor on some elements of defamation including that the allegedly defamatory statements by Fox concerned Dominion, that the statements had been published by Fox and were false. Fox faces a similar lawsuit by voting-technology company Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox Corp, the cable network, Fox hosts and guests. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delawared; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fox News Defamation Case Cleared for Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fox News argues it had the right to cover newsworthy fraud allegations against a voting-machine company during the 2020 election. A Delaware judge ruled Friday that a jury should decide the fate of a defamation case against Fox News for airing unsupported claims that a voting-machine company was involved in election fraud during the 2020 presidential election. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis rejected Fox News’s arguments that it should be declared the victor before trial because its conduct was protected by the First Amendment. The judge said the plaintiff, Dominion Voting Systems, had established that the network in fact aired false statements that the company helped rig the election for Joe Biden.

☆ Judge rejects Fox motions, allows Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation suit to go to trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A Delaware judge on Friday said Dominion Voting's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. and its networks could go to trial in April. Judge Eric Davis of Delaware's Superior Court rejected Fox's arguments that it should bypass a trial since it's protected by the First Amendment. We look forward to going to trial," Dominion said late Friday afternoon. The former president, who was indicted Thursday in an unrelated criminal matter, has repeatedly made false claims about the election being rigged against him. The depositions of both Murdochs, as well as other Fox Corp. executives, are to be included in the trial, too.

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