Fox News Settles Defamation Lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for Over $787 Million

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware announced on April 18, 2023, that Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems have resolved their defamation lawsuit through a settlement. The case, filed in 2021, accused Fox of broadcasting false statements claiming Dominion's voting machines rigged the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden.

6 billion in damages. The settlement amount exceeds $787 million, as confirmed by a lawyer for Dominion in court. The judge, Eric M. Davis, stated that the parties have resolved their case, ending the trial that was set to begin with jury selection on the same day.

No further details on additional terms were immediately disclosed in court proceedings.

the Dispute Dominion Voting Systems initiated the lawsuit against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network in March 2021, alleging that the network defamatory aired claims that the company's software manipulated vote tallies.

These claims originated from unsubstantiated election fraud allegations promoted by President Trump's allies following his 2020 election loss. Fox continued to air such content despite internal communications showing awareness of its falsity, according to pretrial evidence. The lawsuit highlighted 20 specific Fox broadcasts and tweets that Dominion identified as defamatory.

These included segments on programs like "Hannity" and "Tucker Carlson Tonight," where hosts and guests repeated the rigging accusations without evidence. Pretrial rulings by Judge Davis found that Fox had acted with actual malice in broadcasting the statements. A separate but related lawsuit by Smartmatic against Fox remains ongoing, with no settlement announced as of the latest reports.

The trial was delayed briefly earlier in the week, which the judge described as not unusual for such cases.

Jury selection was scheduled for April 18, 2023, but the settlement announcement preempted it. The resolution avoids a public airing of internal Fox documents and witness testimonies that had been anticipated.

“The parties have resolved their case.”

“Fox News agrees that the claims of election fraud and the statements about Dominion... were false.”

The settlement marks the conclusion of one of the highest-profile defamation cases in U.S. media history. Dominion's CEO, John Poulos, had previously testified in depositions about the reputational harm caused by the broadcasts, which led to threats against company employees.