Dominion lawyer reports $787.5M settlement in Fox News defamation case

Dominion Voting Systems has reached a settlement with Fox News in its defamation lawsuit, avoiding a trial that could have cost the network billions of dollars. The settlement will see Dominion receive $787.5 million, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile defamation cases in recent history. Dominion had sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in March 2021, alleging that the network pushed false claims of election fraud involving the company’s voting machines for financial gain. While Fox News acknowledged the court’s ruling that certain claims about Dominion were false, it stopped short of issuing an apology. Dominion CEO John Poulos said that Fox had “caused enormous damage” to his company, and the case had been closely watched as it neared trial. The evidence in the case had been seen as potentially strong enough to prove defamation, despite it being a difficult claim to prove in court. Dominion still has other defamation cases pending over 2020 election fraud claims, including against Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Rival voting company Smartmatic also has a defamation case pending against Fox News and several of its anchors. Fox News has previously settled other high-profile litigation, including sexual harassment cases and a lawsuit involving right-wing conspiracy theories.