Judge Unexpectedly Delays Fox News vs. Dominion Trial Just Before It Was Set to Start
The trial in Dominion Voting Systems’s lawsuit against Fox News has been delayed.
Without explanation, Superior Court Judge Eric Davis of Delaware said late Sunday that the trial’s Monday opening was being postponed until Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal report said Fox was trying to settle even as the trial date loomed, citing what it called “people familiar with the situation.”
The Journal indicated Dominion might also have moved away from its initial position when it sought $1.6 billion in damages.
Dominion has informed Fox in a communication attached to a Fox News filing that it would no longer ask a jury for at least $600 million for its lost profits.
The Dominion suit is based upon Fox’s coverage of the 2020 election and said that Fox knew attacks on its voting systems were false, but aired them anyhow.
According to The Washington Post, citing sources it did not name, the two sides will meet Monday for a final attempt to reach a settlement.
The Post said one source said the meeting is being held at the request of the judge.
The Post report said Dominion has indicated it will demand an acknowledgment from Fox that it broadcast false information.
As of Saturday, Dominion was not publicly talking as if it wanted to settle.
“In the coming weeks, we will prove Fox spread lies causing enormous damage to Dominion. We look forward to trial,” a Dominion spokesman said, according to CNBC.
Fox has called Dominion’s lawsuit “a political crusade in search of a financial windfall.” The network has said it has First Amendment protection, according to Axios.
Davis has handed Dominion some victories in the case already, according to the Journal. He has already ruled that comments about Dominion that were broadcast by Fox — made by both guests and network hosts — were false.
The judge has also said Dominion can force Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan to testify. He also has assigned a special master to determine if Fox misled the court about Murdoch’s role at Fox News, according to Axios.
“It looks like Dominion has a strong case, and I think that myself. I think the judge thinks that but he hasn’t said that,” Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond Law School, said, according to Axios.
Should Fox lose, it is likely to appeal, University of Tennessee journalism professor Stuart Brotman told Axios.
In the article, Axios writer Sara Fischer noted the trial’s impact could be substantial.
She wrote that “if Dominion wins, Fox News may be forced to be more cautious ahead of the 2024 elections, particularly when it comes to ballot fraud allegations.”
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