Dominion Voting Systems and Fox have offered dueling positions on defamation laws in their recent filings, as both sides seek summary judgment that could prevent a scheduled trial in April.
The case has drawn widespread attention in recent weeks as Dominion’s files revealed a flurry of text messages, emails and transcripts of statements showing that Fox figures did not believe Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud, but public figures and guests of the network could not be restrained from supporting allegations of voting fraud to ensure that Joe Biden wins the election.
The submissions from Dominion (read them here) and Fox News and Fox Corp. (read it here and here ) provide insight into how they will argue their motions for summary judgment later this month in the Delaware Supreme Court. Judge Eric M. Davis scheduled the hearing for March 21. If he denies both motions for summary judgment, a jury trial will begin in April.
In its briefing, Fox’s legal team argued: “As long as the press makes it clear that the allegations are mere allegations, they are free to express their opinion that the allegations are “credible” and worthy of investigation (as some Fox News- anchors and other networks have), just as you are free to voice your opinion that the allegations are not credible (as other Fox News moderators and other networks have done).
“Dominion does not even attempt to argue that a reasonable viewer would fail to understand that the vast majority of the allegations it disputes were ‘mere allegations’ by the president and his lawyers, not proven facts about Dominion, Fox lawyers said. . . “It can not be.”
In its legal filings and press releases, Fox News defended its coverage, stating that it was undeniably newsworthy: allegations of election fraud by a sitting president. In their most recent letter, the lawyers argued that “the press would have an obligation to suppress the true fact that the current president of the United States has accused Dominion and others of massive voter fraud. If that were the law, virtually every news paper in the country not only repeatedly discredited Dominion.”
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For their part, Dominion’s lawyers claimed that Fox was trying to create a “radical new rule of complete immunity for the knowing publication of false, newsworthy allegations,” and the careful balance that has been struck since then. New York Times v. Sullivan between the protection of freedom of expression and the protection of hard-earned reputations.”
“Media companies are always allowed to report the truth, including false allegations while stating that the allegations are falseand Dominion was unsure that the numerous media divisions would do so in 2020,” Dominion’s legal team wrote.
“A publisher who knows the truth can still publish the allegations but must tell his audience the truth can still publish the allegations, but must tell its audience the truth – that the allegations are false – or face liability for defamation. It is not Dominion rewriting First Amendment law; it is the basis for decades of First Amendment precedent.” [The italics were included for emphasis by Dominion’s lawyers].
Dominion’s lawyers also argued that they had established that Fox knew the statements were false or that they acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The threshold plaintiffs must prove to win a defamation judgment in a case like this. “The wealth of real-time information shows why each person acted with actual malice,” the lawyers wrote, noting that 19 of the 20 broadcasts cited in their complaint occurred after what they described as a “record straight” -email they informed Fox. news staff of the inaccuracy of the voter fraud allegations.
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“Some programs stopped airing the allegations because they knew they had to tell the truth,” argued Dominion’s lawyers. Host Laura Ingraham, they wrote, “admitted in her statement that on Nov. 12 she ‘made the decision not to disclose Dominion’s false allegations.’
Dominion also argued that testimony from top executives such as Rupert Murdoch, who called the allegations of election fraud “really crazy stuff” and testified that he never believed Dominion had rigged the election, was relevant to proving actual malice.
“Courts have determined that if an editor or officer responsible for a publication knows it to be false or seriously doubts its truth, that editor or officer’s actual malice is sufficient for liability,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
However, Fox News claimed that Dominion must “convey real malice to the people who are actually responsible for the controversial statements”.
“According to Dominion, as long as someone in the ‘chain of command’ – from the production-level producers to the CEO to top executives at the publication’s parent company – doesn’t believe what someone said in any of the organization’s shows, even if that person was not involved in the preparation, editing or release of this statement, or even knew it existed,” Fox’s lawyers wrote. “So, according to Dominion, Fox News acted with true malice when Lachlan Murdoch disbelieved something he didn’t know Sidney Powell said on Lou Dobbs’ show.”
Dominion’s legal team wrote that there is evidence of cases where each “Fox host and producer also acted with actual malice.” For example, they claimed that Dobbs admitted in testimony that “until March 13, [2020] he has never seen any ‘verifiable, tangible support’ for the claims against Dominion.”
The company also referred to statements by David Clark, an executive responsible for Fox News Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo And Justice with Judge Jeanine. They referred to part of his testimony when asked: “On November 6th, sir, you knew that false conspiracy theories were in general circulation, correct?” “I will say yes,” he replied. “Despite this, Clark allowed Bartiromo’s show to air the next day,” Dominion’s lawyers wrote. “By Nov. 14, Clark had received so many emails from Dominion that he joked they were ‘tattooed’ on his body.”
Source: Deadline
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
