Fox News disputes damages it may face
Judge pushes back start of defamation trial
Fox News has disputed the damages it may have to pay if the company is found liable in a highly anticipated defamation trial over the spread of misinformation after the 2020 presidential election, just as the judge in the case pushed back the start of the case by a day.
The postponement of the trial, and Fox’s claims about the possible damages, were the latest twists in the case. Late Sunday, Judge Eric M. Davis said the proceedings would continue Tuesday. He did not give a reason then or in his brief remarks from the bench just after 9 a.m. on Monday.
“This does not seem unusual to me,” Davis said, explaining that he had rarely been part of a trial that did not have some kind of delay. “I am continuing the matter until tomorrow.”
It is not uncommon for adversaries in a trial with such significant damages at stake to seek last-minute settlement talks.
However, three people directly involved in the case said that they did not expect the parties to settle. Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems, which brought the suit against Fox, were filing requests with the court on Monday morning, an indication they expected the case to go to trial on Tuesday.
Dominion set the financial penalty in the case at $1.6 billion. But a dispute over that number erupted after Fox questioned Dominion’s worth, pointing to a recent legal filing by Dominion in which it lowered part of its request for damages.
“Fox has made clear that Dominion’s damages are wildly inflated,” a Fox spokesperson said.
But damages are at the discretion of the jury and could be higher.
A Dominion spokesperson disputed Fox’s characterization of its court filing. “The damages claim remains,” she said. “As Fox well knows, our damages exceed $1.6 billion.”
The reason a settlement has been elusive so far is not just monetary. Fox, one of the most profitable media companies, would have to issue an apology to Dominion under the terms Dominion would accept, according to several people familiar with the limited settlement discussions that have taken place in previous months.
But doing so would come at a significant reputational cost to Fox News, which has continued to air programs casting doubt on the culpability of Trump supporters in the riots of Jan. 6, 2021.
At the same time, both sides have some incentive to reach a deal. Fox may want to avoid a trial in which more embarrassing or damaging details about its operations could emerge. And Dominion may want to secure some financial payment, and avoid fighting years of appeals that would probably take place if it wins the jury trial.
The case has opened an unprecedented window into the inner workings of the country’s leading conservative news network. In the run-up to trial, Fox handed over tens of thousands of e-mails and text messages exchanged among its hosts, producers, and executives. Many of them revealed that there was widespread doubt inside the network over former president Donald Trump’s claims that he had been cheated of victory.
The case is considered a landmark test of First Amendment protections for the news media and has been closely watched by legal and media analysts. Dominion’s voting machines became the focus of proTrump conspiracy theories that implicated the company’s technology in a plot to flip votes from Trump to President Biden.
On Monday, the courtroom was filled with reporters from around the world awaiting word on when they could expect to hear opening statements from both parties and the reason for the delay.
Boldface names from Fox News — hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Maria Bartiromo, along with Rupert Murdoch, whose family controls the sprawling Fox media empire — are expected to testify if the case goes to trial.
Dominion Voting Systems, an elections technology company, filed the libel lawsuit against Fox in early 2021, claiming that Fox hosts and guests repeatedly uttered lies about its role in a fictitious plot to steal the election despite knowing the claims, which had been pushed by Trump and his supporters, were not true.
Fox has said that it was reporting on newsworthy allegations involving a presidential election and insisted that its broadcasts were protected under the First Amendment as commentary and news.