Newsmax settles Dominion defamation case for $67 million, says it couldn't get fair trial

Newsmax claims Delaware judge biased against them Settlement includes three installments totaling $67 million Newsmax stock rises 5% after settlement announcement By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, DEL., Aug 18 (Reuters) - Newsmax Media (NMAX.N) has agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company rigged the 2020 election against U.S. President Donald Trump, it said on Monday. In an unusual statement, Newsmax said it chose to settle because the Delaware judge handling the case was prejudiced against the company, and it stood by its coverage as fair and balanced. The Delaware Superior Court declined to comment. Denver-based Dominion had sought $1.6 billion when it filed the lawsuit in 2021, accusing Newsmax of spreading false claims that Dominion helped steal the election for President Joe Biden. Newsmax and Newsmax Broadcasting LLC agreed to pay Dominion and its affiliates over three installments, starting with $27 million that was paid on Friday. Newsmax will pay $20 million on January 15 and another $20 million on January 15, 2027. The company said it would be paid from its revenue. “We are pleased to have settled this matter,” a Dominion spokesperson said in a statement. Newsmax stock rose around 5% on the New York Stock Exchange to $12.75 a share. The company said Monday’s agreement resolved all litigation against it over its coverage of the 2020 election when Biden defeated Trump, who then beat Biden in 2024. “From the very beginning, Judge (Eric) Davis ruled in ways that strongly favored the plaintiffs and limited Newsmax’s ability to defend itself,” Newsmax said. It said it was being punished for not being sympathetic to Biden, who is from Delaware. Newsmax said Davis deprived the company of its ability to present a full defense when he ruled in April that Newsmax published defamatory and false statements. While Davis said damages would be determined by a jury trial that was expected later this year, Newsmax said he refused to let the jury hear that Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion in 2023 to settle similar defamation claims. Newsmax said that information was critical for the jury to understand that Dominion had already been compensated, according to Newsmax. The Fox case was also overseen by Davis. The case was filed in Delaware, where Newsmax was incorporated at the time. It has since reincorporated in Florida, one of many large public companies that have left the state due to alleged bias in its courts. Newsmax also paid $40 million to settle allegations brought by another voting machine company, Smartmatic, in a separate case that was also overseen by Davis. On Monday, Trump said on social media he would move to get rid of mail-in ballots as well as “seriously controversial” voting machines. He did not identify voting machines from any particular company.