Fox Corp. Set To Go To Trial in Smartmatic $2.7 Billion Defamation Suit Against Network [View all]

Source: MEDIAite

Jan 9th, 2025, 4:46 pm


Fox Corp lost its bid Thursday to not be included in the $2.7 billion defamation suit brought against Fox News by Smartmatic, an electronic voting systems company.

A New York state appeals court rejected Fox’s motion on Thursday in a five-judge panel decision. The ruling means the suit against Fox is set to go to trial unless the parties settle ahead of time, like Fox News did with Dominion Voting Systems last year for $787 million. Smartmatic, like Dominion, sued Fox News over statements made on air following the 2020 presidential election suggesting the companies engaged in voter fraud to steal votes from then-President Donald Trump.

Fox told Mediaite in a statement after the ruling, “We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial. As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatic’s damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on their face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms.”

Smartmatic has sued Newsmax as well over similar claims made on-air. Newsmax settled with Smartmatic in September as the jury selection began ahead of the trial. Smartmatic had first sued Newsmax in a Deleware court in November 2021 and the case was moved to trial after several motions to dismiss in February of 2023. Newsmax said that it “resolved the litigation brought by Smartmatic through a confidential settlement,” the details of which remain undisclosed.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/news/just-in-smartmatics-2-7-billion-defamation-suit-against-fox-news-set-for-trial/