Fox, Dominion Reach $787.5M Settlement

5:12 PM 4/18 UPDATE:  Fox News agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday for $787.5 million, according to an attorney for the voting technology company, representing a stunning conclusion to one of the most-watched media trials in decades. The judge dismissed jurors just hours after they had been selected. Dominion sued for $1.6 billion over allegations that Fox defamed the voting company by either knowingly or recklessly airing false claims tying voting machines to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 presidential election. Some of Fox’s biggest stars and executives were expected to testify in the trial that was expected to test the limits of U.S. libel law.

4:20 PM 4/18 UPDATE:   FOX News Media announced today that a settlement was reached in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.

In making the announcement, the network said, “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 from these issues.”

4:00 PM 4/18 UPDATE: The judge in the Fox News defamation case said on Tuesday that the case was resolved, abruptly ending a long-running dispute over misinformation in the 2020 election just as a highly anticipated trial was about to begin.

It was a last-minute end to a case that began two years ago and after the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that peeled back the curtain on a media company that has long resisted outside scrutiny.

The resolution came to pass before either side even made their respective opening statements.

Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. vs. Fox News/Fox Corporation was originally billed as one of the most high-profile defamation trials in years.

Terms of the settlement were not announced. Neither Fox News nor Dominion responded immediately with a request for comment.

The move means Fox News can avoid a lengthy, messy trial that would’ve placed its top stars — including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity — on the witness stand to answer for their coverage of election lies and baseless conspiracy theories in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Dominion alleged that Fox hosts and guests amplified false claims that its voting technology helped rig the election for Joe Biden. The company sought $1.6 billion in damages. Fox argued that it was covering newsworthy claims by associates of then-President Donald Trump and that its broadcasts should be protected by the First Amendment.

Earlier story..

The trial in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp and Fox News will proceed with jury selection resuming on Tuesday rather than on Monday as previously scheduled, a judge said on Monday.

Reuters reports Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis did not provide a reason for the delay in the trial, stemming from Fox's airing of false claims that the Denver-based company's machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican-then President Donald Trump.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that Fox had been pursuing a possible settlement. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also reported that Fox was pursuing settlement talks, citing sources.

After jury selection, which began last week, is completed on Tuesday, opening statements to the 12-member panel would then be scheduled to take place on Tuesday, the judge said.

Dominion sued Fox Corp and Fox News. The trial is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in years, involving a leading cable news outlet with numerous conservative commentators. The primary question for jurors is whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of "actual malice" that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.

Rupert Murdoch, the chair of Fox Corp, is set to testify during the trial, along with a parade of Fox executives and on-air hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.

The trial is considered a test of whether Fox's coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleges and Fox denies.