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Courtroom showdown in US$1.6 billion defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp. and Fox News began Tuesday as jury selection continued before revealing statements in the trial that created one of the world’s leading media properties.
Anticipation has been building for today since Dominion sued in 2021 over Fox’s broadcast of false claims that the company’s vote counting machines were used to rig the 2020 US presidential election to favor Democrat Joe Biden over Republican president Donald Trump.
After a one-day delay ordered by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, jury selection resumed in Wilmington. The proceedings are expected to be swift, setting the stage for lawyers representing both sides to make opening statements to the 12-member panel.
Reporters and potential jurors lined up outside the courtroom on Tuesday morning.
Adding to the drama is the fact that 92-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who chairs Fox Corp., will testify during the trial, along with a procession of Fox executives such as CEO Suzanne Scott and on-air. hosts include Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
The judge did not give a reason for the 24-hour delay, but two sources told Reuters that Fox and Dominion had held final settlement talks. Fox and Dominion are still able to settle the case. Fox faces such a large penalty that Dominion also seeks punitive damages in an amount deemed appropriate by the jury.
Dominion in 2021 sued Fox Corp. and Fox News, insisting that its business was damaged by claims of fraudulent voter fraud aired by an influential American cable news outlet known for its list of conservative commentators.
Dominion was originally founded in Toronto by John Poulos and James Hoover, and now has its US headquarters in Denver.
The main question for the jury was whether Fox knowingly spread false information or ignored the truth, the “actual malice” standard that Dominion must show in a defamation case. Based on numerous internal communications, Dominion said Fox staff, from newsroom employees to Murdoch, knew the statement was false but continued to air it for fear of losing viewers to media competitors on the right.
The trial was billed as a test of whether Fox’s coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the pursuit of ratings, as Dominion and Fox denied. Fox has portrayed himself in skirmishes before the court as a defender of press freedom.
Another setting
The stakes are higher as another US voting technology company, Smartmatic, pursues its own defamation suit against Fox seeking $2.7 billion in damages in New York state court.
Fox Corp shareholders are demanding company records that could show whether directors and executives actually monitored Fox News’ coverage of Trump’s election claims, sources told Reuters, in what could be a prelude to lawsuits seeking to make directors liable for costs.
Fox called Dominion’s damages claims unrealistic and based on a flawed economic model. An expert report commissioned by Dominion said many contracts were lost for Fox coverage, although much of the report remains sealed.
Fox claimed in a filing on Friday that Dominion has agreed to knock off more than $500 million US from its damage claim. A Dominion spokeswoman denied the claim and said the damage claim remains unchanged.
Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.
Dominion has said defamatory statements about aired on the Fox show included Sunday Morning Futures, Lou Dobbs Tonight and Justice with Judge Jeanine.
Dominion also cited evidence that some hosts and producers believed that guests who had spread false statements, including former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, could not support the allegations.
Fox contends that its coverage of the vote fraud claims is warranted and protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press. Davis rejected that argument in a ruling last month.
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