When Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis abruptly delayed the trial’s start date involving Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News, there were murmurs that a settlement had been reached.
On Monday, the judge downplayed that speculation, saying it was not “unusual” to push back the start date, even adding that it was his idea. He proceeded with the Tuesday morning portion of the trial phase. Then, there was a stall in the afternoon session leading to more chatter that there were last-minute pushes to settle.
That indeed happened, as the two parties came to terms on a settlement agreement costing Fox News and Fox Corp $787.5 million.
According to a CNN report from Marshall Cohen and Oliver Darcy, the 11th hour, or more accurately, very close to a 12th-hour settlement, involved a mediator who was vacationing in Europe in celebration of his 70th birthday.
Jerry Roscoe was on a river cruise from Budapest, Hungary to Bucharest, Romania when he received a call asking if he would serve as a mediator in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News and Fox Corp.
He promptly accepted and went quickly over the materials shuttling between the two parties, who already had their own settlement proposed but couldn’t come to a concrete agreement.
With Judge Davis being informed over the weekend that there could be a settlement, all the delays that happened on Sunday and Monday were necessitated so that a deal could get done, which finally happened shortly after 2 p.m. ET.
All parties believed a trial was underway, with Dominion informing Fox News that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and primetime host Tucker Carlson were the first witnesses it wanted on the witness stand.
On Monday morning, everything proceeded as planned. There were no signs of an imminent deal, even during the lunch break. Dominion’s lawyer Stephen Shackelford was seen eating at the Subway restaurant in the courthouse’s basement cafeteria, and jury members were served their court-provided lunch.
In the background, Roscoe was busy finalizing the deal that abruptly ended the just-started trial, which was expected to last six weeks.
As the realities of the trial quickly settled in, Fox decided it would settle. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN. “Once the jury sits down and you’re looking at people who are going to decide your fate, it’s an awakening experience.”