A sudden one-day delay in the Dominion Voting System's defamation suit against Fox News has led many to speculate that the parties could be trying for a last-minute settlement negotiation. The Washington Post reported that this was the purpose of the delay, although on Monday Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis told jurors to expect to return tomorrow for proceedings.
Still, Salon reported, legal experts argue Fox News could be feeling the heat — and the rational decision would have been to pursue a settlement a long time ago, which they failed to do during mediation last December and, as recently as a few weeks ago, it appeared an option that didn't appear to be remotely on the table.
"Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman tweeted that the case could be a candidate for a settlement because 'Dominion has a killer case on liability but seeking damages that are hard to justify.' A big settlement offer from Fox 'could make sense for both," he wrote," reported Salon.
"Attorney Bradley Moss added that 'trials are a wild card' and there is a 'non-trivial chance the pre-trial rulings get reversed on appeal and the whole thing is tossed.' Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti wrote that Fox 'should have pursued this strategy long ago, settling before damaging emails and texts became part of the public record.' Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig, a CNN legal analyst, said on Sunday that 'there's something about being on the eve of trial that can really sober up both parties.'"
Dominion was accused repeatedly by guests on Fox News of being part of a secret scheme to rig the election, with little to no pushback from hosts, even as many behind the scenes said in private communications they knew there was no evidence for it. The lawsuit was originally seeking $1.6 billion in damages, but a Fox email over the weekend indicates Dominion may no longer pursue the $600 million lost-profits component of the damages at trial.
Fox's legal problems were complicated even further by a lawsuit from a former Tucker Carlson producer, Abby Grossberg, who alleges the network's lawyers counseled her to mislead investigators in a deposition on the Dominion case.
The outcome of the case, or a settlement that resolves it before trial, would have significant implications for the right-wing cable network. Another elections equipment company, Smartmatic, has a $2.7 billion lawsuit ready to go against Fox, and it would likely be influenced by the outcome of the Dominion lawsuit. Meanwhile, this all comes at a time when Fox is seeking to renew and increase its licensing fees with major cable service providers, which constitutes the bulk of the network's revenue, and their current legal problems could jeopardize their leverage in these talks.
