Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis ruled Friday that Dominion Voting Systems' blockbuster defamation suit against Fox News over baseless claims it had cheated former President Donald Trump of victory in the 2020 elections could proceed to trial.
In addition, Davis ruled that Dominion had already proved the contested statements' falsity. The jury that is scheduled to be seated in the trial in several weeks won't have to weigh their validity; instead, the judge will instruct them that they are false.
"The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that [it] is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," Davis wrote in a 80-page decision notable for the tough stance it took against Fox's legal defense.
That means Dominion can now publicly say the allegations made on numerous Fox broadcasts about the election company are simply false.
"We now have a finding, as a matter of law, that Fox defamed Dominion," says Thomas Wienner, a retired Michigan-based corporate litigator who has been monitoring the case for NPR. "A lot of the arguments that Fox has been making are now gone. As to Fox News, the only remaining liability issue is whether it had the requisite state of mind to be held legally responsible for its defamatory statements."
In a further instance, Davis ruled against Fox's argument of a "neutral reporting" privilege that protects it from any liability if it accurately conveys the allegations of...
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