Fox News has tapped Texas attorneys Chip Babcock and Scott A. Keller to defend the network against the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed last month by Dominion Voting Systems.
The Denver-based technology company is arguing that Fox News falsely claimed the company rigged the 2020 presidential election and “sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process.”
After the suit was filed last month, Fox News said in a statement: “Fox News Media is proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism, and will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court.”
Babcock, from the firm Jackson Walker, has tried over 100 cases to a jury and argued over 50 appeals, according to his online biography. With media and First Amendment litigation expertise, he’s represented clients such as Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey and George W. Bush, and previous corporate clients include CNN, Fox News, CBS Television Studios and Google.
Lehotsky Keller LLP’s Keller has previously argued 11 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and 12 cases in front of the Texas Supreme Court. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Texas before founding Lehotsky Keller, and was Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court.
The case is being litigated in Delaware, where both companies are incorporated, and is the first defamation suit filed against a media outlet by the voting company. Here’s a digital copy of the 443-page lawsuit, first filed in March, previously obtained by the AP.
Another voting technology company, Smartmatic, has also sued Fox News over election claims. Fox News has filed motions to dismiss Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion lawsuit.
Babcock and Keller were tapped shortly after Fox News named Bernard Gugar as its newest general counsel and evp of corporate development. He’s replacing Lily Fu Claffee, who is stepping down voluntarily and leaving on amicable terms, according to the company.