The Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 defamation claim against Fox News and Fox Corp is going to a jury trial next month, a Delaware Superior Court judge ruled on Friday.
Both Dominion and Fox had asked Judge Eric Davis for a pretrial ruling in their favor, declaring them the winner at this stage in the proceedings, thus rendering a trial unnecessary. However, after thousands of pages of filings and exhibits, the judge decided that the case should go to trial.
Dominion was granted a summary judgment victory on its allegations of false statements and reporting on Fox News airwaves during the 2020 presidential election, saying that the evidence the voting technology company presented shows that Fox News aired falsehoods about the company. However, Judge Davis rejected a summary judgment finding on actual malice, which is why the case is going to trial.
“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true. Therefore, the Court will grant summary judgment in favor of Dominion on the element of falsity,” Davis wrote.
Dominion seems pleased with the ruling. “We are gratified by the Court’s thorough ruling soundly rejecting all of Fox’s arguments and defenses, and finding as a matter of law that their statements about Dominion are false. We look forward to going to trial,” the company said in a statement.
“This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. “Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings,”
Jury selection begins Thursday, April 13, and this means that Delaware jurors will be the ones to decide whether Fox News defamed the voting technology company by consistently promoting false claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.