Settlement reached in Dominion defamation lawsuit against Fox News

In a statement made Tuesday after Fox News settled the defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, Fox said:

“We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”

So, what did those rulings say?

This is about the topic of falsity. To win a defamation case, you need to prove a few things. Most importantly, you need to prove the statements were false and that they were made with actual malice, otherwise known as a reckless disregard for the truth.

In a major pretrial ruling on March 31, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled Dominion had successfully proven that all 20 statements mentioned in its lawsuit against Fox were false. 

“Through its extensive proof, Dominion has met its burden of showing there is no genuine issue of material fact as to falsity… The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote.

Dominion Voting Systems' co-lead counsel Justin Nelson said he and Dominion's other attorneys were expecting to go to trial against Fox News on Tuesday.

The final deal to settle the case with the right-wing network for $787.5 million came late in the day, and the settlement papers with Fox were signed just “minutes” before the agreement was announced, he said.

Prior to the last-minute settlement, Nelson told CNN he and other attorneys had been preparing opening statements – even during the two-and-a-half-hour courtroom delay after the lunch recess.

Fox News will pay more than $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems after lawyers from both sides hammered out a last-minute settlement of the defamation case launched against the right-wing network.

The deal was announced hours after the jury was sworn in at the Delaware Superior Court. Rumors of a settlement swirled in the courthouse when, after a lunch break, the proceedings dramatically ground to a halt for nearly three hours with no explanation, while the parties apparently hammered out an accord.

CNN's Bill Hennessy, court sketch artist, captured scenes from inside the courtroom:

Dominion Voting Systems had two goals in its defamation case against Fox News — accountability and “trying to make Dominion whole," said Justin Nelson, the lead counsel election technology company.

Both were accomplished in this settlement, he told CNN on Tuesday.

The payment of more than $787 million by Fox News to Dominion and the network's statement acknowledging that its coverage of the 2020 election was false was “a strong message of accountability” and an important victory for the employees of his client's company.

While the settlement does not stipulate that Fox’s anchors must acknowledge the lies on air, Nelson said it was a consequential outcome for the network.

The texts and emails that emerged during the litigation process from inside the Fox network were valuable, he said. "And what today has shown is that you have to pay a price if you're telling lies."

Previous court filings revealed messages that showed that the most prominent stars and highest-ranking executives at Fox News privately ridiculed claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, despite the right-wing channel allowing lies about the presidential contest to be promoted on its air.

He said the settlement with Fox sends a "strong message" to other right-wing outlets in which Dominion has ongoing legal disputes.

Fox News’ payment of $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems is the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history involving a media company. 

Notably, in 2017, ABC News paid $177 million after its years-long legal dispute with South Dakota-based meat processor Beef Products Inc. over its textured meat product that the network referred to as “pink slime.”

At the time, the settlement was believed to be the biggest amount ever paid in a media defamation case in the United States.

Fox News anchors will not have to acknowledge on-air that it told election lies about Dominion Voting Systems as part of the terms of its settlement, a representative for the election technology company told CNN.

Fox News did acknowledge in its statement that falsehoods were broadcast. 

But top anchors at the right-wing talk channel will not be required as part of the settlement to acknowledge on air the lies broadcast in the wake of the 2020 election.

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion," said the company CEO John Poulos on Tuesday, following the last-minute $787.5 million settlement with the right-wing network.

"Fox and Dominion have reached a historic settlement. Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my Company, our employees, and our customers. Nothing can ever make up for that," Poulos said in the statement. "Throughout this process, we have sought accountability and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading and endorsing lies."

 

Smartmatic, the voting technology company that is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion for defamation said its pending case will further expose wrongdoing by the right-wing network, following the last-minute settlement in the case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest. Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy," said a statement from Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly.

The settlement for more than $787 million with Fox News represents “a ringing endorsement for truth and accountability,” the attorney representing Dominion Voting Systems said Tuesday.

Nelson said that more than two years ago a “torrent of lies” had swept Dominion and election officials across America, causing “grievous harm to Dominion and the country.”

Nelson also said the country must “remain ever vigilant to find common ground.”

“For our democracy to endure for another 250 years and, hopefully much longer, we must share a commitment to facts,” Nelson added.