The fate of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News lies, for the moment, in the hands of a plainspoken judge known for his unflinching poker face.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis, a 12-year veteran of the state's bench and former corporate attorney, has often sought to temper emotions in the contentious proceedings between the broadcasting giant and Dominion Voting Systems, a voting-technology company. Each side repeatedly has accused the other of acting in bad faith.
"If he were to be given a name in culture, it would be Cool Hand Luke," says Joseph Hurley, a criminal defense attorney based in Wilmington who has argued before Davis but has no involvement with the case. "In court, he never shows any emotion, and I mean that in a good way."
Dominion sued Fox for airing false claims that it helped cheat then-President Donald Trump of a win in the 2020 elections. Both sides just filed motions asking Davis to grant them victory ahead of the jury trial scheduled to start in April. The motions are under seal, meaning they have not been made public.
Davis is also overseeing a separate defamation case filed by another voting tech company, Smartmatic, against Fox's smaller rival Newsmax, over similar claims.
Davis' recent rulings in that case may offer clues to how he'll treat Dominion's case against Fox.
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