Fox News Hit with $2.7 Billion Lawsuit by Smartmatic; Shareholders Investigated by Robbins LLP and Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP
Fox News and its anchors Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo have been hit with a $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic for allegedly “engaging in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about Smartmatic.”[0] This follows a New York state judge ruling that the lawsuit could move forward against those defendants but not against anchor Jeanine Pirro. The appeals judge ruled Tuesday that the case can move forward against everyone named in the suit, denying Fox’s motion to dismiss.
According to the allegations in the complaint, Fox News, Dobbs, and Bartiromo stated that Smartmatic's election technology and software were widely used in the 2020 election and in Dominion machines to switch votes, when they actually knew, or easily could have known had they not purposefully avoided publicly available knowledge, that in 2020, the Smartmatic technology was used only in Los Angeles County and that the vote switching claims otherwise had no support.[1]
The judges also said that claims against Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, should be dismissed, but will allow Smartmatic to refile that portion of their case. Fox News did notch a smaller victory in the appellate court finding that allegations against parent company Fox Corporation should have been dismissed, with leave to replead.
Fox News, in a statement, said, “There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan.”[2]
Robbins LLP is also investigating Fox Corporation and its officers and directors to determine whether they violated securities laws or breached fiduciary duties in connection with comments made against Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems alleging the companies rigged the 2020 presidential election. These comments were found to be false according to a new court filing by Dominion Voting Systems.[3] Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP is also continuing its investigation whether certain directors and officers of Fox Corporation breached their fiduciary duties to Fox and its shareholders.
Shareholders of Fox are encouraged to contact attorney Joe Pettigrew for additional information at (844) 818-6982, or [email protected].[4]
0. “Court Lets Lawsuit Against Fox News Move Forward—Here’s Where Dominion And Smartmatic’s Defamation Suits Stand Now” Forbes, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/02/15/court-lets-lawsuit-against-fox-news-move-forward-heres-where-dominion-and-smartmatics-defamation-suits-stand-now/
1. “Fox News loses appeal of Smartmatic defamation suit, claims against Rudy Giuliani and Jeanine Pirro revived” Law & Crime, 15 Feb. 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/fox-news-loses-appeal-of-smartmatic-defamation-suit-claims-against-rudy-giuliani-and-jeanine-pirro-revived/
2. “Fox News hosts called 2020 election fraud ‘total BS' in private, new Dominion court filing says – X101 Always Classic” X101 Always Classic Local News, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.wxhc.com/fox-news-hosts-called-2020-election-fraud-total-bs-in-private-new-dominion-court-filing-says/
3. “Radio Station WHMI 93.5 FM — Livingston County Michigan News, Weather, Traffic, Sports, School Updates, and the …” WHMI, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.whmi.com/news/national/fox-news-hosts-called-2020-election-fraud-total-bs-private-new-dominion-court-filing-says
4. “CONTINUED INVESTIGATION ALERT: Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Investigates Fox Corporation's Directors” Benzinga, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/23/02/g30940487/continued-investigation-alert-scott-scott-attorneys-at-law-llp-investigates-fox-corporations-direc
