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Wilmington: Fox Corp and Fox News have resolved a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, the judge in the case said on Tuesday (US time), averting a high-profile trial putting one of the world’s top media companies in the crosshairs over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 US election.
The resolution, whose terms were not immediately disclosed, was announced at the 11th hour, with a 12-person jury selected on Tuesday morning and the case poised to kick off with opening statements.
Rupert Murdoch.Credit: Rob Homer
Dominion had sought $US1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) in damages in the lawsuit filed in 2021, with Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis presiding over the case in Wilmington.
At issue in the lawsuit was whether Fox was liable for airing the false claims that Denver-based Dominion’s ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the 2020 US election in favour of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican then-President Donald Trump. Dominion argued that these on-air claims caused the company “enormous and irreparable economic harm”.
Fox Corp and Fox News are pleased to have reached an “amicable” settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over a defamation lawsuit, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,” Fox Corp said.
The deal spares Fox the peril of having some of its best-known figures called to the witness stand and subjected to potentially withering questioning, from executives including Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul who serves as Fox Corp chairman, and Fox boss Suzanne Scott as well as on-air hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
Davis had ordered a one-day trial postponement on Monday before the delay on Tuesday, apparently as the two sides hammered out a deal.
The decision to settle also followed a ruling by the judge that Fox could not invoke free speech protections under the US Constitution in its defence.
Fox News is the most-watched US cable news network, according to Nielsen.
Reuters
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