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The 2020 presidential election continues to be litigated in Delaware courts, even as the this year’s election approaches.
A major defamation case surrounding false claims of vote tampering during the 2020 election looks to be headed for a Delaware jury this month, after a Delaware Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that a civil suit against right-wing news outlet Newsmax can proceed to trial.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 by voting machine technology company Smartmatic, alleges that Newsmax defamed the company – and caused financial damage – by repeatedly and knowingly broadcasting false claims that the voting company rigged election results during the 2020 election between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Newsmax asked the judge to dismiss the defamation suit ahead of a trial, calling itself a neutral news agency that was simply doing its job in reporting on noteworthy events.
Delaware judge Eric P. Davis declined to do so, writing that it’s up to a jury to decide whether Newsmax “recklessly disregarded the truth” in allowing hosts and guests to repeat election conspiracy theories without evidence.
More: Trump’s been making unfounded election fraud claims. Now he’s threatened prison sentences for it.
“The jury must determine if Newsmax was doing what media organizations typically do — inform the public of newsworthy events — or did Newsmax purposely avoid the truth and defame Smartmatic,” wrote Davis in his ruling.
Davis presided over a similar defamation case in Delaware in April, in which Dominion Voting Systems accused right-wing cable network Fox News of broadcasting similar false claims. That case was settled out of court for $787 million.
Smartmatic is also suing Fox News for defamation, and it recently settled a case against right-wing outlet One America News Network.
More: Fox News, Dominion reach $787.5M settlement just before defamation trial was set to begin
The falsity of the election claims about Smartmatic will not be in dispute during the trial.
“Statements regarding Smartmatic software or voting machines altering the results of the election are factually false,” Davis wrote in his Thursday ruling. The ruling notes that Smartmatic’s technology was used only in Los Angeles during the 2020 election, and that the factual record shows no claims of irregularities surrounding the vote in Los Angeles.
Other aspects of the pretrial ruling went in Newsmax’s favor.
The jury will be allowed to consider Newsmax’s defense that it was acting as a neutral news agency when it allowed guests such as Trump associate Sidney Powell to air out false election claims, according to Davis. The judge also ruled that Smartmatic must demonstrate “actual malice and damages,” in accordance with Florida law.
Both Smartmatic and Newsmax are incorporated in Delaware. Both have their headquarters in Florida. The defamation case against Newsmax is scheduled to begin Sept. 30 in Delaware Superior Court.
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Publish date : 2024-09-13 09:07:00
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