A Delaware judge ruled that the right-wing cable channel Newsmax made defamatory statements about Dominion Voting Systems when it falsely claimed that the company rigged votes in the 2020 presidential election.
Judge Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court said on Wednesday that the case would now proceed to a trial by jury, which would decide whether Newsmax knowingly broadcast the false claims and the extent of any damages to Dominion. The trial is expected to start in Delaware on April 28.
In his ruling, Judge Davis said that Dominion presented “clear and convincing evidence” that the statements from Newsmax were false and that they would “likely cause reasonable viewers to think significantly less favorably about Dominion than if the viewers knew the truth.”
“Newsmax covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly,” a Newsmax spokesman said in a statement. “At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”
A Dominion spokeswoman said in a statement, “We are gratified by the court’s thorough ruling.”
Dominion filed the lawsuit against Newsmax in August 2021, claiming that the channel had falsely accused it of election fraud and of rigging vote counts in 18 statements that aired on television, as well as in a social media post.
A jury will have to decide whether Dominion has proved that Newsmax acted with “actual malice” when it aired the claims — meaning that the defendants knew that what they were broadcasting was false or that they demonstrated a reckless disregard for the truth.
The parties could settle ahead of trial, as Dominion did in its blockbuster defamation case against Fox News, which resulted in a $787.5 million settlement on the day a trial was set to start in 2023.
Newsmax settled a similar defamation lawsuit brought by the voting technology company Smartmatic last year for $40 million, an amount disclosed in March in a regulatory filing.
Partly because of the costs incurred by the defamation cases, Newsmax filed for an initial public offering, making its stock market debut on March 31. Its stock price has been on a roller coaster, first catapulting to a high of $279 before sharply dropping. On Thursday, it was trading at just over $30 a share.
Katie Robertson covers the media industry for The Times. Email: [email protected]
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