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A lawyer for Fox argued Tuesday that Chairman Rupert Murdoch does not have to travel to Delaware to testify in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the network. I pointed out that I was planning to travel.
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A lawyer for Fox argued Tuesday that Chairman Rupert Murdoch does not have to travel to Delaware to testify in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the network. I pointed out that I was planning to travel.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A Delaware judge overseeing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Tuesday appears to have rejected claims that founder Rupert Murdoch is too weak to testify in court next month.
A judge told Fox’s attorney not to make him look like an idiot.
When Judge Eric M. Davis noted that Murdoch, 92, had previously received a letter saying he “couldn’t travel” to a trial in Delaware due to COVID, the remarks were made during a pretrial hearing. was done at the beginning of
“Also, some people tell me he’s done a few things lately. [show] Murdoch recently announced his fifth marriage, noting that he plans to move between homes in Los Angeles, Montana, New York, and London.
The exchange was the first of several times that the usually cold-headed Davis warned Fox’s lawyers to “be careful.”
It also foreshadowed a major controversy in the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems: The company broadcast unsubstantiated election fraud allegations in late 2020. Was it management, including Murdoch, who owns the team?
Dominion’s attorneys allege that the company suffered reputational damage after Fox encouraged or deliberately turned a blind eye (from individual hosts to executives). A conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from then-President Donald Trump.
Fox’s attorneys have denied the allegations in the lawsuit to the face, and the network has essentially overheated the newsworthy allegations made by a newsworthy person (the sitting president) and his representatives. It claims that it was airing as a result of the election that took place.
Fox officials said this week that Dominion is trying to limit the network’s First Amendment debate, pointing to a sealed motion Fox claims, and lawyers refer to newsworthiness in the network’s defense. He claimed to limit
However, Fox’s attorneys have also unequivocally refuted Dominion’s claims that liability could extend to executives and directors of Fox News’ parent company, Fox Corporation.
The lawsuit, filed last year, has so far uncovered thousands of documents that lawyers plan to use as evidence in court, prompting numerous depositions.
On Tuesday, Fox attorney Matthew Carter pointed to Murdoch’s deposition in response to Davis’ distrust of the media mogul’s ability to travel.
Carter said there was a misunderstanding. His side did not allege that Murdoch was infirm, but given that Murdoch had already been questioned for seven hours at the deposition, his trial testimony was without merit.
In a deposition, Murdoch claimed he knew Trump lost the 2020 election, but certain Fox hosts, including Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs, alleged stories of stolen elections. “supported” the
He also acknowledged the power of Fox News executives and stars to dissuade him from giving airtime to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who pitched lies.
“We could have done it,” Murdoch said in a deposition. “But I didn’t.”
Ultimately, Davis demonstrated that he had the authority to force Murdoch to appear in court.
Discussing publication of emails, texts and legal documents
It remains to be seen whether Davis can do the same for officials further down the Fox chain of command, including those directly involved in the creation of certain segments.
Lawyers at Tuesday’s hearing will discuss the questions, topics that may be covered during testimony, the types of evidence that may be shown, as well as any advance notice that must be given to witnesses before testimony. We discussed other questions, such as the number of days.
The latter point irritated the judge, who was described by a Delaware attorney as a “cool hand Luke” for his demeanor.
“Are you fighting 24 hours a day?” Davis asked again, almost in disbelief.
The hearing then turned into a hotly debated issue of the release of court documents. (Lawyers for NPR and other media organizations dispute extensive redactions throughout the document.)
Dominion lawyers say Fox exhibits a pattern of trying to hide documents from public view, and the lawyers oppose the use of evidence in open court, potentially leading to an “asymmetric warfare”. He said he had even been involved in sexual matters.
The statement again provoked a spirited response from judges who asked Fox if he really opposed “all the exhibits.” A lawyer for Fox confirmed that Davis later said, “This is not a game.”
In response, Fox’s attorneys said Dominion had created a massive undertaking on their side by including more than 1,000 exhibits on her side. I didn’t want to give up my right to vote, so I challenged everything.
“It’s just a matter of quantity,” she said.
As the argument continued, Davis told Fox’s lawyer one last time, “Be careful.”
Fox attorney Catherine Morley has argued that the court should redact court documents about the network’s fact-checking process, which took place in the so-called “brain room.”
As was the theme of the day, the judge expressed skepticism, stating, “They were used in my court and I didn’t seal the court.”
He further said that his future opinion on separate motions from Dominion and Fox to rule in Dominion’s and Fox’s favor before trial would include a reference to the Brain Room.
“I’m not editing my opinion,” Davis said.
David Folkenflik contributed to this story.
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