A New York appeals court refused to drop Smartmatic’s defamation suit against Fox News and figures such as Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo.
The appeals court ruling (read it here) stems from Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion lawsuit against the network, which alleged that its personalities and guests bolstered baseless claims by Donald Trump and his team that the voting system company rigged the 2020 presidential election.
The ruling was not about whether the network was liable for defamation, but that Smartmatic had sufficiently asserted its claims to move to the next phase of the litigation.
The network argued that it was protected under the First Amendment because it highlighted a matter that was undoubtedly in the public interest, as US President Donald Trump questioned the outcome of the election.
The appellate judges wrote that Smartmatic’s allegations “alleged that the defendants did not merely report the newsworthy fact to Fox News, Dobbs and Bartiromo that the president’s campaign lawyers had recklessly made statements containing false information. Rather, the complaint alleges in detail that Fox News, Dobbs and Bartiromo, in their reporting and commentary, effectively supported and complied with the allegations without regard to, or serious doubt about, the allegations or implications that the plaintiffs engaged in voter fraud. of truth or was supported by reliable evidence.”
The judges also ordered the reinstatement of claims against another Fox News figure, Jeanine Pirro, along with some of her claims against Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer who was a guest on the network after the election. Lower Court Judge David Cohen dismissed those claims last year while much of the rest of the Smartmatic case continued.
While the judges said claims against Fox Corp., Fox News’ parent company, should be dismissed, Smartmatic will allow Smartmatic to retry that portion of their case.
The justices also wrote that they declined to “consider plaintiffs to be public figures with a limited purpose who must allege facts that, if true, would ‘clearly and convincingly’ show defamation with actual malice.”
Shortly after Smartmatic filed its lawsuit in 2021, Fox dropped Dobbs from his Fox Business schedule. He is no longer with the network.
Another voting system company, Dominion Voting Systems, filed a defamation suit against Fox News and Fox Corp. in a Delaware court, and that trial is expected to begin in April.
A Fox News spokesperson said: “There is nothing more fair than to hit the President of the United States and his lawyers with allegations of voter fraud. We are confident that we will prevail as freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy and must be protected, in addition to the fact that the claims for damages are excessive, unfounded and not based on sound financial analysis and no longer as a blatant Try to keep our journalists from their jobs.”
Smartmatic’s attorney, Erik Connolly, said: “We look forward to holding Fox News and the other defendants accountable in court. Smartmatic is pleased with the decision of the New York Circuit Court of Appeals, which dismissed all termination claims by Fox News and its cohorts.”
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
