Judge denies Smartmatic bid to dismiss counterclaim made by Fox News

A judge in New York has denied a motion by voting systems company Smartmatic to toss a counterclaim made by Fox News as part of an ongoing legal battle between the two companies over the network’s coverage of the 2020 election.

In a ruling filed Wednesday with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Judge David Cohen noted there has yet to be a ruling on whether Smartmatic’s claims, including the $2.7 billion it is suing Fox for in damages, have a substantial basis in fact.

“First, defendants’ argument here is that plaintiffs’ alleged damages are so extenuated from their actual lost profits that they were pleaded and/or sought in order to chill defendants’ free speech rights,” Cohen wrote. “That argument has not yet been adjudicated in any court.”

Smartmatic sued Fox in 2021 for $2.7 billion, accusing the cable news company of maliciously giving former President Trump’s attorneys a platform to air false claims about its software and the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Media mogul and former Fox chair Rupert Murdoch reportedly faced questioning in November from lawyers for Smartmatic as part of the ongoing suit.

Fox last spring agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle claims of defamation made over its coverage of the 2020 election. As part of that lawsuit, which was settled just as a trial’s opening arguments were set to begin, a Delaware judge ruled that statements made about Dominion on Fox’s airwaves were materially false.

In October, Cohen rejected a motion from Fox to subpoena billionaire George Soros, which the cable news company has alleged in court filings has ties to Smartmatic.

Fox has argued Smartmatic is inflating its valuation and did not suffer the damages it is seeking from the network.

A trial in the Smartmatic v. Fox case is not expected until 2025.

Updated: 1:27 p.m.