Murdoch’s bill for settling Fox defamation lawsuits likely to exceed £1bn

Rupert Murdoch’s bill for settling defamation lawsuits against Fox News is likely to eclipse the £1bn paid out in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

Fox reached a dramatic 11th-hour settlement with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday over accusations that the news network knowingly broadcast false claims that Dominion’s technology was used to rig the 2020 election of Joe Biden.

The network will pay $788m (£633m) to settle the claim. While this is less than half the $1.6bn in damages Dominion had been seeking, it is still the largest settlement in a libel case in US history.

The last-gasp deal, which was reached after a jury had been selected and as the two sides were poised to begin opening statements, spared Fox from a potentially embarrassing trial that would have shed light on the heart of Mr Murdoch’s empire.

The 92-year-old had been expected to take the stand, with Fox News chairman Suzanne Scott and presenters including Tucker Carlson also expected to testify.

But Fox’s legal woes are likely to continue, as the company is now facing a $2.7bn lawsuit filed by another voting technology company.

Smartmatic USA secured approval for its case from a New York judge in March, and has vowed to push ahead with legal action.

Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic, said: “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest.

“Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.”

Meanwhile, Mr Murdoch and his son Lachlan have also been personally sued over claims they failed to stop Fox broadcasting “false and dangerous” claims.

Robert Schwarz, a shareholder in Fox, has accused the billionaire media mogul and four other board members of failing to ensure Fox lived up to its ethical standards and avoid reputational risk.

The litany of lawsuits raises the prospect that Mr Murdoch’s bill will balloon over the £1bn estimated to have been paid out to resolve claims related to phone hacking at News of the World.

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Alice Enders at Enders Analysis said Smartmatic did not have the “same mountain of evidence” as Dominion but said it was likely the overall cost of legal action would amount to more than £1bn.

In a statement issued following the Dominion deal, Fox acknowledged the court’s rulings “finding certain claims about Dominion to be false”.

However, the channel will not be required to issue any retractions or on-air apologies.

Coverage of the blockbuster deal was muted on Fox News. Hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, who had been expected to testify in the trial, did not reference the settlement during their primetime broadcasts on Tuesday night.

Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his headline afternoon news show “Your World” to report the settlement and read a statement by Fox, in which it said it was pleased to have reached an agreement to avert a trial but stopped short of an apology.

Speaking after the settlement was reached last night, Dominion chief executive John Poulos said: “Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and our customers. Nothing can ever make up for that.”