Dominion Voting Systems announced Tuesday that it has reached a settlement in its high-profile defamation lawsuit against Fox News, bringing the legal battle to a close just as the case was set to proceed to trial. The agreement was finalized in Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington, following an unexplained, hours-long delay after the jury was sworn in.
The last-minute deal means that Fox News executives and on-air personalities will not be required to testify regarding their coverage of the 2020 election, which Dominion argued was filled with false claims of voter fraud. Specific terms of the settlement have not been disclosed and may remain confidential.
Dominion had originally sought $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News. During pretrial proceedings, the network and its parent company, Fox Corporation, contested the figure as inflated and denied any wrongdoing, characterizing the lawsuit as a threat to press freedoms. They also rejected Dominion’s assertion that the network promoted election conspiracy theories to boost declining ratings.
While the dispute with Fox News is resolved, Dominion continues to face other legal challenges. The company is still pursuing a separate defamation lawsuit against Smartmatic, another voting technology firm targeted by false allegations on Fox programming. That case remains in the discovery phase, with no trial date currently scheduled.
I’m shocked this happened right as the jury was seated. You can’t make this stuff up! The timing is absolutely incredible.
No trial means no testimony about how ratings drove these false claims. Seems like Fox got off easy with a quiet exit.