WILMINGTON (Delaware) — After two days of hearings on competing motions for pretrial rulings, a judge will soon decide the amount of Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox News & Fox Corp. to a jury next months.
Here, in a quiet, partly empty courtroom, lawyers for both sides argued that the evidence gathered over a year of discovery, depositions, and testimony was so convincing that Eric Davis, Superior Court Judge, could now weigh in.
Davis stated that the parties had “proved to me that this is a very complicated case” from the bench Wednesday. He also noted that he would rush to finish a summary judgment ruling in time for the April trial. “I agreed to work harder on summary judgment, instead of losing my trial date.”
Any partial or full summary judgments at this stage could severely limit and shape the historic case for defamation. They will affect everything, from who is liable to what claims. Davis indicated Wednesday that he would not rule on Wednesday, but that he will soon.
Fox News and Fox Corp. were sued by Dominion for $1.6 billion. They argued that certain Fox News broadcasts and hosts’ Tweets, which included conspiracy theories about Dominion voting system — such as the claim that machines were used to rig Joe Biden’s election — were defamatory.
Fox News spokesperson stated that “despite the confusion and noise Dominion has created by presenting cherry-picked quotations without context, this case ultimately concerns the First Amendment protections to the media’s absolute need for coverage of the news.” FOX will continue to vigorously advocate for free speech and free press rights.
Lawyers from both sides argued for hours over tweets, broadcasts, and what it meant for an allegation to be made.
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Rodney Smolla, Dominion attorney, argued that calling something an allegation does not make factual claims into opinions.
Fox News attorney Erin Murphy spoke quickly during her presentations Tuesday and Wednesday. She claimed that defamation is not possible when reporting on newsworthy claims from newsworthy persons. She stated that executives simply being aware of the guest’s appearance is not direct involvement with the production of that show.
She said, “The ability to step up is different than proving that you were involved.”
The jury trial will begin on April 17. According to the judge, lawyers will need to decide if they want live or recorded testimony for their jury presentations.
He said, “I prefer living witnesses.” “This is supposed be a truth-seeking scenario, not a game.
