Judge Orders Fox to Release Documents in Shareholders’ Lawsuit

A Delaware judge has ordered Fox Corp. to produce hundreds of documents in an ongoing shareholders’ lawsuit that alleges the media company’s leadership fostered a business model prone to scandal and costly litigation. The ruling, issued on Friday, requires Fox to hand over records that could reveal how founder Rupert Murdoch and former Ford Motor Co. CEO Jacques Nasser managed major controversies at the network over the past two decades.

The lawsuit, originally filed three years ago, seeks to hold Murdoch, his son Lachlan—who now serves as executive chairman and CEO—and other board members legally accountable for repeated scandals. The legal action was largely triggered by Fox’s nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of promoting baseless conspiracy theories regarding fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Additionally, the case notes an ongoing defamation suit from Smartmatic USA, a voting technology firm seeking $2.7 billion from Fox. The shareholders’ complaint also references an undisclosed settlement with the family of Seth Rich, following the network’s publication and subsequent retraction of a false story linking the slain DNC staffer to a leak of emails. Furthermore, the lawsuit cites the phone hacking scandal that plagued News Corp., another Murdoch-owned entity, costing it approximately $1.5 billion.

Central to the shareholders’ case is the relationship between Murdoch and Nasser, who served as a lead independent director on various Murdoch boards until stepping down in 2023, the same year the Dominion case was settled. Shareholders are challenging whether Nasser acted with true independence or if his closeness to the Murdochs compromised his ability to serve as a counterweight to their executive control.

If the court finds that Nasser prioritized Murdoch’s interests over the company’s, it could undermine the independence of more than half of Fox’s board members, potentially allowing the case to proceed to trial. During Friday’s proceedings, Fox attorneys attempted to block the disclosure of roughly 700 documents containing references to phone hacking, along with board meeting records and emails from Nasser’s Ford accounts, but the judge denied the request.