Overview
- New York’s Appellate Division, First Department on Thursday denied Fox’s requests to stay the case and to vacate parts of a 2025 report, while granting limited new discovery tied to the DOJ’s superseding indictment and allegations involving Los Angeles County and Venezuela.
- The added discovery targets whether the criminal case hurt Smartmatic’s business, which goes to damages, as the defamation suit itself continues toward trial because the court declined to halt proceedings.
- Fox said it was pleased to obtain discovery on the indictment and Los Angeles allegations, arguing this could show Smartmatic’s financial losses were driven by its own legal exposure.
- Smartmatic said the ruling blocks Fox’s latest delay effort and keeps the $2.7 billion claim on track for a jury to hear, reinforcing the company’s focus on reputational harm from 2020-election coverage.
- Coverage split along familiar lines, with right-leaning outlets stressing Fox’s discovery win and left-leaning outlets emphasizing the court’s refusal to stop the case, as context from the Dominion settlement and prior Smartmatic settlements heightens the stakes.