Overview

• Smartmatic must provide evidence of specific economic harm caused by Fox News's 2020 election coverage before further discovery can proceed, per a New York judge's recent order.
• Fox News successfully secured partial access to internal Smartmatic documents related to a U.S. corruption case involving bribery charges against three executives, including co-founder Roger Piñate.
• Smartmatic argues that Fox’s coverage of debunked election fraud claims caused $2.7 billion in damages, while Fox maintains that the company's losses stem from its own legal troubles and declining reputation.
• Both sides have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit without a trial, with a decision pending; a trial is tentatively scheduled for 2026 if no settlement is reached.
• This case is part of a broader wave of defamation lawsuits by voting-technology firms following the 2020 election, including Dominion’s $787.5 million settlement with Fox in 2023.