Fox Corp. Fails to Shed $2.7 Billion NY Defamation Suit (2)

Fox Corp. will have to face defamation claims for statements aired on Fox News, a New York appellate court ruled Thursday.

Voting technology company Smartmatic USA Corp. sufficiently alleges in its $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox executives that the corporation may be directly liable for disinformation that was part of Fox News’s 2020 post-election coverage, the New York Supreme Court First Appellate Department wrote in an unsigned opinion. The allegations also “satisfy the applicable pleading requirements for alleging ‘actual malice,’” the court said.

However, the court dismissed Smartmatic’s claims for vicarious liability—that Fox Corp. exercised complete control over Fox ...