Legal expert explains why Fox will probably settle the infamous Dominion lawsuit

Sarah K. Burris
August 20, 2022

Former Judge Jeanine Pirro taking the stage at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Former federal prosecutor and now law professor Joyce Vance thinks that the Fox network will likely look to settle their lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over the false portrayals of them on numerous shows after the 2020 election.

Speaking to host Ayman Mohyeldin on MSNBC Saturday, Vance explained that defamation lawsuits are incredibly powerful and that it's unusual to see one that is as one-sided as Dominion's.

"One suspects that there would be a lot of pressure on the Fox defendant to settle the case short of trial," Vance explained. "Although a settlement could be painful, going to trial almost guarantees a broader exposure of these sorts of Kraken-lawyer-fever-dreams that are being spread here."

As for the First Amendment, she explained cases like this are the perfect example of drawing lines around whether people can be held liable for knowingly lying to the American public.

"One of the most really eclectic and very fitting elements of this sort of law is plaintiffs are entitled to get some form of truth-telling from defendants in the same form where lies were told," Vance continued. "As you indicated, there are beginning efforts in that area, it only gets worse as the case goes to trial."

Mohyeldin, who said he doesn't consider Fox a "news organization," has a "moral obligation" to tell the truth. However, he asked, "it's not a crime to lie, is it?"

"This is a very interesting slice of that sort of behavior," she explained. "It is not talking about criminality. It simply says in the language of the law that you committed a civil tort against me, Dominion. That you have defamed my business, that you have told lies and, in many ways, impacted my ability to earn a living, or you've impacted my profits and bottom line. So, I am entitled to compensation from you. So, the lawsuit proceeds very much in that vein along that civil liability track that punishes people, who intentionally or with gross negligence lie about people and the sorts of civil settings."

See the explanation below: