Fox News waved the white flag on Tuesday, settling with Dominion Voting Systems just hours into the first day of the bombshell trial over whether the conservative cable giant showed “actual malice” when it peddled election fraud lies about the voting software firm.
In a press conference shortly after the trial was halted, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems said they’d settled for $787.5 million—roughly half of what they’d initially sought.
“The truth matters, lies have consequences,” Dominion co-lead counsel Justin Nelson said. “Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the country.”
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Dominion CEO John Polous called the result a “historic settlement,” adding that Fox “admitted to telling lies about Dominion” that greatly damaged his company and employees.
“Nothing can ever make up for that,” he 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. Dominion, our employees and our partners are grateful to the court for allowing the process for the truth to come out.”
Fox will not have to provide an on-air apology for its false claims regarding Dominion, according to CNN.
Fox said in a statement: “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.
“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.”
Dominion’s attorneys arrive for jury selection on Tuesday.
EDUARDO MUNOZ/ReutersDelaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis first announced to jurors on Tuesday afternoon that the parties had “resolved the case.” He commended both sides, noting he had never seen such quality work from lawyers in his 13 years on the bench.
“The quality of the briefing, the ability of attorneys to answer questions, the amount of workload that you’ve done in the case—and I just want to say, I would be proud to be your judge in the future,” Davis said.
The settlement may be the largest in a defamation case involving the media. According to a March 2022 Media Law Resource Center report, the largest known settlement in a defamation suit against a media outlet was in 2012, when ABC settled for $177 million over an investigation involving allegations of “pink slime.”
Rumors of a settlement began circulating on the eve of the trial after Davis announced that the start of the proceedings would be delayed by one day. The Wall Street Journal, owned by Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, reported on Sunday that the network was making a late push to settle.
In a Sunday legal filing, Fox News lawyers also disputed the damages it would pay if found liable by a jury in the $1.6 billion suit, stating that Dominion had recently softened its claims for alleged lost profits totaling upwards of $600 million. Dominion, however, disputed that, stating that the “damages claim remains” and that the network was well aware that “our damages exceed $1.6 billion.”
“This does not seem unusual to me,” Davis said on Monday morning while delaying the start of the trial. “I am continuing the matter until tomorrow.”
The lawsuit was spurred after various Fox News segments propagated the idea that voting machines made by Dominion were used to rig the 2020 election in favor of Democrats. That and countless conspiracies, including that Dominion was controlled by Venezuela, prompted the company to sue in March 2021 for $1.6 billion.
The case was dragged in court through years of procedural motions before exploding in February, when countless texts, statements, and depositions provided an unprecedented look into Fox News’ operations during the election period.
The texts included Fox stars like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, along with various producers, labeling Donald Trump acolytes such as Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell as “dangerous as hell” and “on the crazy train with no brakes.”
Smartmatic, another voting software company suing Fox News for billions over its 2020 election lies, applauded Dominion’s handling of its case.
“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest,” the firm’s lawyer Erik Connoly said in a statement. “Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”
Prior to the settlement being reached on Tuesday afternoon, and following a two-hour delay in Dominion beginning its opening statement, Davis formally appointed a special master to investigate whether Fox News had “complied with their discovery allegations.” Last week, Davis had admonished the network over its description of Murdoch’s role with the network, as well as for potentially withholding evidence in the discovery phase.
Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who is separately suing the network for harassment and discrimination, revealed last week that she was in possession of several audio recordings of former Trump attorneys and campaign officials acknowledging they had no proof that voting machines rigged the 2020 election. Grossberg also claimed these recordings were made available to Fox lawyers, but they didn’t provide them to Dominion during discovery.
“We hope that the Special Master’s diligent and thorough investigation will result in all of the truth being revealed, and Ms. Grossberg stands ready to cooperate in any way possible,” Grossberg’s legal team said on Tuesday.
Grossberg’s lawyers also congratulated Dominion on a “truly precedent-setting settlement,” adding that they are “reminded of how Fox News’s penchant for paying out notoriously large settlements” has “failed to bring about actual meaningful changes to the network’s abhorrent culture of lawlessness.”
“Fortunately, our client, Abby Grossberg, remains committed as ever to obtaining vindication of Fox News’s violations of not just her rights but the rights of others whose voices have been silenced or who fear retribution for exposing the truth, through her two lawsuits against Fox,” attorneys Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman stated.
John Fawcett, another ex-Fox producer suing the network who was also listed as a potential witness in the Dominion trial, told The Daily Beast that the network’s payout was mostly about protecting its top executives.
“This settlement tells you everything you need to know about Fox—they will do and pay whatever they need to, to protect Rupert Murdoch, Suzanne Scott and the rest of the executive crew,” Fawcett, a producer for Lou Dobbs’ former Fox Business show, said.
Legal experts had considered Dominion’s defamation case a strong one, meeting the high bar of “actual malice” that often prevents such cases from making it to trial. Davis passed a summary judgment that declared Fox made false claims surrounding Dominion’s role in the election, noting the copious amounts of evidence revealed through discovery and pre-trial motions, though he said Dominion would have to prove to a jury that Fox met the “actual malice” standard.
Dominion’s legal team let it be known on Thursday that regardless of the hefty settlement from Fox, they were far from done when it came to legal action against anyone who allegedly defamed the company.
“Money is accountability, and we got that today from Fox, but we’re not done yet,” Dominion attorney Stephen Shackleford said on Thursday. “We’ve got some other people who have some accountability coming towards them. And I’m very proud of the team from Susman Godfrey that has worked tirelessly for this case. And we’ll move right on to the next one.”
Dominion still has pending lawsuits against far-right networks Newsmax and One America News, as well as MAGA pillow magnate Mike Lindell and former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
