A judge on Friday refused to dismiss Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News, clearing the way for the case to proceed to trial beginning in mid-April.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis denied Fox’s motion for summary judgment, instead granting Dominion’s motion in part.
“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” the judge wrote. “Therefore, the Court will grant summary judgment in favor of Dominion on the element of falsity.”
In a statement provided to the Guardian, Dominion applauded the decision.
“We are gratified by the Court’s thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Fox’s arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false,” they wrote. “We look forward to going to trial.”
Unless Fox and Dominion decide to settle the case before trial, jury selection will begin on 13 April and the trial, due to begin on 17 April, is scheduled to last about six weeks. Prominent Fox News anchors and executives are expected to appear for in-person testimony.
The case, which stems from Fox News’ false claims about Dominion and the role it played in allowing mass voter fraud which swung the 2020 presidential election, represents one of the most aggressive attempts to hold a corporation accountable for former president Donald Trump’s big lie.
Erin Murphy, a lawyer representing Fox, said in court recently that the network cannot be held liable because it was merely airing allegations from representatives of the sitting president.
But the judge on Friday rejected that argument. “Fox News Network is not a passive entity,” he wrote. “Fox News Network controls what is broadcast on its various networks.”
Fox issued a statement after the summary judgment. “This case is and always has been about the first amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news,” the statement read. “Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings.”
While Fox continues to deny the defamation claims, the emails and text correspondence among its staff that have already been revealed in the course of the trial have been revelatory and, in some ways, mean that Dominion has already won the messaging battle. On several occasions, the prominent Fox anchor Tucker Carlson, used the word “reckless” to describe the network’s constant lies that aided Trump’s effort to overturn the election.
• This article was amended on 3 April 2023 because the judge was misdescribed in the subheading as a “federal judge”. He is Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis.
