One would naturally think Rupert Murdoch would not have to testify at the ongoing lawsuit of his media outlet—Fox News.
That was probably the inspiration behind the 92-year-old step down from the helms of Fox Corporation. However, Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, are still subject to deposition in the case. This means they will still have to appear for testimony.
During the build-up of the Fox-Smartmatic case, counsel representing Fox News tried to assert that the Murdochs didn’t have to testify. In fact, his initial goal was to exempt Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, from the proceedings.
However, Erik Connolly, Smartmatic’s lead counsel, begged to defer. He argues that Fox Corporation and the Fox News subsidiary are identical.
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Barely seven months ago, Fox News decided in favour of an out-of-court settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. The settlement for the Dominion defamation case was a whopping $787 million.
Meanwhile, Smartmatic is asking for a $2.7 billion settlement, also for defamation by the news outlet. The legal miseries of Fox News are a product of multiple defamatory claims and allegations.
A truckload of these claims against Dominion and Smartmatic occurred during the 2020 presidential elections.
During that election, multiple pro-Trump guests came on Fox News to make allegations against Dominion and Smartmatic. The claims were mainly about the two companies being complicit in the rigging of the elections in favour of Biden.
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The ongoing lawsuit would have been a tussle between the two IT companies and the individuals who made false claims, however, as Dominion’s counsel pointed out something indicting Fox during their case.
Fox News did not try to verify the claims made through their media outlet. So, the hosts of the programs, Fox News itself, and the guest speakers were legally responsible for the plaintiff’s defamation in the two cases.
There is a mass of evidence available against Fox. This means that it is unlikely that they will win the Smartmatic case if it ends with a court ruling. However, Fox Corporation thinks Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion settlement claim is outrageous.
The plaintiff—Smartmatic, on the other hand, is citing the tremendous loss of value it has suffered since after the false claims made on Fox News.
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It is not surprising that Dominion and Smartmatic took their lawsuits against Fox News very seriously. The two companies are into technological solutions and supplied the e-voting equipment used during the 2020 elections.
Individuals with direct links with Trump went on Fox News to claim that the two IT companies are collaborators with Biden and his team. The Fox News guests in question are inclusive of Trump’s lead counsel.
They all suggested that Dominion and Smartmatic are part of an international conspiracy to unseat the incumbent president.
It doesn’t end there for Fox News; Dominion and Smartmatic are just their major legal headaches. However, there are several minor litigations of defamation that they have to grapple with. For example, a former Marine has sued the media house for smearing his reputation in their report of the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol.
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