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Watch CBS News

Politics

Fox News, Dominion Voting Systems reach lawsuit settlement in
high-stakes defamation case

By Melissa Quinn, Clare Hymes

Updated on: April 18, 2023 / 5:34 PM / CBS News

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Dominion and Fox News reach settlement
Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News reach last-minute settlement in
defamation case 01:54

Washington -- Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News have reached a deal
to resolve the $1.6 billion defamation case the electronic voting
company brought against the cable news giant over unfounded
accusations broadcast on its air that Dominion helped rig the 2020
presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

Dominion attorneys told reporters that Fox would pay $787.5 million
to settle the lawsuit soon after Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric
Davis announced that the "case has been resolved." Davis had brought
the jury and 12 alternates back into the courtroom following a
lengthy break in proceedings.

"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with
Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding
certain claims about Dominion to be false," the network said in a
statement. "This settlement reflects FOX's continued commitment to
the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision
to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the
acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from
these issues."

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse following the
announcement that the case had been resolved, Justin Nelson, a lawyer
for Dominion, said the outcome represents "accountability."

"Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and for democracy,"
Nelson said, while warning that "disinformation will not go away."

Dominion CEO John Poulos called the settlement "historic" and thanked
election officials, saying in a statement "without them there is no
democracy."

"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. "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. Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our
democracy."

Fox's lawyers did not speak to reporters after the proceedings
concluded. Dominion's lawyers did not divulge whether they will
receive an apology or retraction from the network or its co-founder,
Rupert Murdoch.

The details of the settlement are unclear, and the case's resolution
came on the first day of the trial in Delaware Superior Court. A
12-member jury and the alternates were seated in the morning and
sworn in, after which lawyers for the two sides were set to deliver
opening statements Tuesday afternoon. The settlement brings an end to
what was expected to be a six-week trial. 

The start of the trial had already been delayed by one day, from
Monday to Tuesday.

The agreement marks the culmination of Dominion's two-year lawsuit
against Fox News and its parent company Fox Corporation over false
claims about the integrity of the 2020 election and spares the
network's top stars and Murdoch from having to take the stand.

The electronic voting company alleged Fox defamed it by broadcasting
unfounded allegations that Dominion had rigged the election against
Trump and its software manipulated vote counts. The electronic voting
company sought $1.6 billion in damages.

Evidence was expected to be voluminous at the trial, after filings
from Dominion's and Fox's legal teams indicated there would be over
7,000 and more than 5,000 exhibits, respectively. Before the trial,
reams of text messages and internal emails from Fox's hosts,
producers and executives were made public as part of the lawsuit, and
many showed the network's best-known stars didn't believe the claims
that were being pushed by the former president and his allies. 

The communications also provided a behind-the-scenes look at the
atmosphere inside Fox after the network was the first to call Arizona
for Joe Biden on election night. The move led viewers to change the
channel from Fox to rival networks amid pushback from Trump and his
campaign, setting off alarm bells within the cable giant.

Dominion pointed to 20 statements -- many made by conservative lawyers
Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani -- aired on shows hosted by Maria
Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity
or on Twitter that the voting equipment and software company argues
were defamatory.

The trial was expected to be a high-stakes test of the boundaries of
the First Amendment, as Fox's lawyers argued the claims it aired
about Dominion were newsworthy, because Trump's top allies and
lawyers had made the statements, and also because of when the
statements were made and what they concerned. Fox also claimed that
the broadcasts are constitutionally protected.

But in an opinion published in late March, Davis pushed back against
several of Fox's defenses, calling it "oxymoronic" to call the
challenged 20 statements opinions while also asserting they were
newsworthy allegations. Davis, who reviewed all 20 broadcasts where
the falsehoods about Dominion were made, said in his opinion that
it's "crystal clear" that none of the statements relating to the
electronic voting company are true.

He also rebuked Fox's attorneys during a pre-trial conference last
week after Dominion alleged the cable news giant had withheld
evidence and information. A lawyer for Fox apologized to Davis in a
letter Friday, writing the network's legal team is "committed to
clear and full communication with the Court moving forward."

It's unclear whether Fox and Dominion had discussed a potential
settlement earlier in the case, but the two sides previously met late
last year for court-ordered mediation and did not immediately reach
an agreement. 

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    In:
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First published on April 18, 2023 / 3:59 PM

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