Here’s Where Dominion And Smartmatic’s Other Lawsuits Stand Now

Topline

Fox News settled Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against it Tuesday for $787.5 million, avoiding an anticipated six-week trial in the case and bringing two years of litigation to an end—but Dominion and rival company Smartmatic still have numerous other cases pending against right-wing defendants over fraud claims involving the companies’ machines, including a separate pending case against Fox News.

The News Corp. building on 6th Avenue, home to Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street … [+] Journal, on March 20, 2019 in New York City, New York.

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Key Facts

Fox News (Smartmatic): Smartmatic sued Fox News and its anchors Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo in February 2021, alleging they “engaged in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about Smartmatic,” and after a New York state judge ruled in March that the $2.7 billion lawsuit could move forward against those defendants but not against anchor Jeanine Pirro, an appeals judge ruled in February to restore the claims against Pirro and denied Fox’s motion to dismiss.

Rudy Giuliani (Smartmatic): Smartmatic named Giuliani as a defendant in the first lawsuit it filed in February 2021; a New York state judge allowed some of its claims to move forward against him but not others before an appeals judge reinstated those claims in February, and Giuliani countersued Smartmatic in an effort to reclaim his attorneys fees in the case.

Rudy Giuliani (Dominion): A federal judge has allowed Dominion’s case against Giuliani to move forward, declining to throw out the defamation lawsuit on technical procedural grounds as Giuliani had asked after the voting machine company sued him in January 2021, alleging he “enriche[d]

Sidney Powell (Dominion): Dominion filed its first lawsuit in January 2021 against far-right attorney Powell, who has been the most prominent person spreading fraud claims involving the companies’ voting machines, seeking $1.3 billion in damages, and U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied Powell’s motion to dismiss the case in August 2021.

Sidney Powell (Smartmatic): Smartmatic named Powell as a defendant in a lawsuit in state court in April 2021, and while a judge ruled that case couldn’t move forward against her, the company has separately sued her in federal court, which remains pending.

OANN (Dominion): U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled in November that Dominion’s lawsuit against OANN can move forward, finding Dominion has jurisdiction to bring the case, after the voting company sued One America News Network (OANN) in August 2021, alleging the far-right network promoted fraud allegations despite knowing they were false and “helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where … Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud.”

OANN (Smartmatic): Smartmatic separately sued OANN in federal court in November 2021, alleging the network “reported a lie” and spread fraud claims about the company—whose machines were only used in California in 2020—knowing they were false; Nichols similarly ruled that case can move forward in June.

Mike Lindell (Smartmatic): U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s motion to dismiss Smartmatic’s case against him in September, after Smartmatic sued MyPillow and Lindell in January 2022 for defamation and deceptive trade practices, alleging the CEO spread “lies” about the company and “intentionally stoked the fires of xenophobia and party-divide for the noble purpose of selling his pillows.”

Mike Lindell (Dominion): Denver-based Dominion separately sued Lindell and MyPillow for defamation in federal court, which a judge allowed to move forward in August 2021, with Dominion alleging the CEO “sells the lie” about the company’s voting machines “because the lie sells pillows.”

Newsmax (Dominion): Dominion sued Newsmax in Delaware state court in August 2021, and Davis denied a motion to dismiss the suit in June, finding the news network likely knew its allegations against Dominion were “probably false” and its reporting may have intentionally left out evidence showing Dominion wasn’t involved with election fraud.

Newsmax (Smartmatic): Smartmatic sued Newsmax in Delaware state court in November 2021, alleging it spread false claims against the voting company, which a judge allowed to move forward in February, and Newsmax has countersued Smartmatic because it alleges the company is trying to censor the network’s First Amendment-protected speech.

Patrick Byrne (Dominion): Dominion sued former Overstock CEO Byrne in August 2021, alleging the businessman “manufactured and promoted fake evidence to convince the world that the 2020 election had been stolen” using Dominion voting machines, and U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied Byrne’s motion to dismiss the case in April 2022, ruling “a reasonable jury could find Byrne acted with actual malice” in spreading provably false assertions about Dominion.

What To Watch For

It’s likely to be a while before the other pending cases go to trial. Dominion’s cases against Powell, Giuliani and Lindell won’t go to trial until at least mid-2024, as a scheduling order set a February 2024 hearing to discuss potential trial dates, and other cases against Byrne and OANN similarly appear to stretch into next year based on their current schedules.

Crucial Quote

“Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign,” Smartmatic attorney Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday following the Fox and Dominion’s settlement. “Smartmatic will expose the rest.”

Big Number

$1.6 billion. That’s approximately how much Dominion is asking for in damages against OANN, Byrne and Newsmax—the same amount it asked for against Fox News, which ultimately ended up being far lower when the case was settled. Its lawsuits against Powell, Giuliani and Lindell are each seeking $1.3 billion in damages. Smartmatic’s Fox News lawsuit is seeking $2.7 billion in damages, but its OANN, Newsmax and Lindell complaints do not specify exact figures.

Chief Critics

Fox News said in a statement following its Dominion settlement that it “acknowledge[s] the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” and said the settlement reflects “Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.” The network had previously denied the defamation claims against it, arguing statements made on-air about Dominion were reporting on newsworthy events protected under the First Amendment. The other parties who have been sued have largely remained defiant, and Lindell has continued to push false claims of election fraud despite the multiple defamation suits against him. Giuliani has called the lawsuit against him “another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left-wing,” and Newsmax called Dominion’s lawsuit “a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press.”

Key Background

The companies’ voting machines are at the heart of a right-wing conspiracy theory alleging they were used to fraudulently flip votes from Trump to Joe Biden, which is not substantiated by evidence. Dominion says that the claims have substantially hurt its business and put its employees in danger. The voting company controls about 30% of the U.S. market, according to data cited by ProPublica in 2019—making it the second-largest business of its kind in the country—and said in its Fox News lawsuit that it has contracts with 28 states. Business analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet estimated the company’s 2021 annual revenue will be $40.15 million, though the company alleges it has lost out on state contracts over the fraud claims, including a $10 million contract in Stark County, Ohio, and a $100 million contract in Louisiana. London-based Smartmatic’s machines were only used in Los Angeles County in the 2020 election, though CEO told Antonio Mugica told Forbes the company has ambitions to expand further in the U.S. The company alleged in its complaints the fraud claims have caused Smartmatic to lose more than $2 billion in valuation since the 2020 election, going from more than $3 billion to less than $1 billion, though Forbes has independently valued Smartmatic at an estimated $730 million.