On Tuesday, as the lawsuit neared its conclusion, Fox News struck a last-minute settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, paying more than $787 million and ending a two-year court battle that had severely harmed the right-wing network's credibility.
The $787.5 million settlement that Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached is the largest widely reported defamation award in US history involving a media corporation.
Shortly after the jury had been sworn in in the Delaware Superior Court, the settlement agreement was made public. Rumours of a settlement swirled in the courtroom as the hearings lasted more than three hours following a lunch break. The parties purportedly reached an accord without explanation.
Before dismissing the 12-member jury, Judge Eric Davis stated that the parties had resolved their case, crediting them with motivating them to reach an agreement, praising the attorneys on both sides and dismissing what was called by the media trial of the century before it even started.
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According to Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson, the historic settlement represents vindication and accountability, and for their democracy to last another 250 years, ideally much longer, they must all share a commitment to facts, adding that that day was a resounding win for truth and democracy.
The Fox network said it recognizes the Court's rulings finding Dominion claims false. This is about Davis' recent ruling that 20 Fox News broadcasts from 2020 contained blatantly false assertions that Dominion rigged the presidential election. According to a Dominion spokesman, Fox would not have to declare on-air that it spread disinformation about Dominion.
According to court records, the $787.5 million compensation is almost half the $1.6 billion Dominion first wanted. Still, it is nearly ten times the company's 2018 valuation and roughly eight times its annual revenue in 2021.
The last-minute agreement means the meticulously followed case has been settled and will not go to trial. Fox News executives and prominent on-air presenters will avoid answering questions about its 2020 election coverage, which was rife with claims of voter fraud, thanks to an arrangement with Dominion.
Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, his CEO son Lachlan Murdoch, and top Fox hosts such as Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson were among those called as witnesses. Damning emails, messages, and deposition testimony made public during the case revealed that these officials and many others at Fox privately stated in 2020 that the Dominion vote-rigging charges were ridiculous. But the lies were broadcast anyhow.
Fox News and its parent business, Fox Corporation, also a defendant, contend that they never defamed Dominion and that the litigation was a baseless attack on First Amendment press liberties.
Fox avoids a gruelling six-week trial.
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