Dominion's Lawsuit Against Fox

Discovery in the $1.6b lawsuit is turning up all sorts of interesting tidbits.

• Fox's on-air personalities did not believe any of what they were broadcasting (this will not excuse them from the lawsuit of course -- in fact it strengthens it)
  
• Rupert Murdoch himself thought Trump was crazy despite willingly being his megaphone to the MAGA donors
  
• Smartmatic's parallel lawsuit has been given the go-ahead (that's another $2.7b Murdoch will owe)
  
• This goes to trial in April.  If (when) Murdoch loses, is $4.3 billion enough to bankrupt him and close down Fox?  It should be close.
  
• When you have enough money it can act as a shield against legal action (Murdoch, Trump, Alex Jones). You have to first knock down that shield before you can prosecute a billionaire for crimes like anyone else
  

Rupert Murdoch's latest revelations are devastating for FNC.  They'll either have to go out of business, or completely change their business plan.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rupert-murdoch-jared-kushner-biden-ads-fox_n_63fdaa49e4b0ecabbaa10e60
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/murdoch-dominion-lawsuit-election-lies_n_63fd2a38e4b0db7a1f675085

Remarkable.

Remarkable that it's taken this long.

I think the actual trial starts in April. So far, it's all been preliminaries.

I'd settle for 1.5 billion, telling them "see what a discount I'm giving you". Plus they have to pay the lawyers, of course.

Dominion has always said it's not about the money. I'd be surprised if they settle. It'd mean more to them, and the world at large, if Fox's business model came out in public. And by "public" I mean among Fox's viewers.

And just like that, the whole case goes "poof." Fox apologizes for the "misunderstanding." Dominion's shareholders (or executives?) get big bonuses.

And Fox continues on, peddling Russian disinformation.

Somebody please put a pillow over my face.

My wife, who worked as a legal secretary all her career, says lawyers typically get 40-45% of a settlement like this.

Pure unadulterated greed.

Quote :

But what could have pushed a settlement over the edge was a four-page order Davis filed at 11:43 a.m. ET on Tuesday while he was still on the bench. That order, which followed a testy pretrial hearing last week during which Davis announced he would sanction Fox for discovery noncompliance and/or misrepresentations to the court, appointed a special master to investigate Fox News and Fox Corp.’s respective discovery conduct. Among the powers Davis gave the special master were the right to take his own depositions of any person at any location of his choosing and generally within five calendar days. And not only did Davis make plain that the special master’s investigation would be on Fox’s dime but he also declared that Fox could not refuse any request for information on grounds of attorney-client privilege or the attorney work-product doctrine, which generally protects attorneys’ thought processes and work product in connection with litigation. My guess is that beyond their fear of a massive jury verdict or the further embarrassment of Murdoch, his son and Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan, or even Fox primetime hosts being cross-examined for all the world to hear in real-time, the discovery issue here — and its further excavation by a special master with broad powers — was the motivation Fox needed to pay up–and get out.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fox-dominion-settlement-special-master-rcna80325