A highly anticipated trial against Fox Corp FOXA has been delayed for a day, and is due to begin Tuesday, as per a new announcement by Delaware Judge Eric M. Davis.
In the past week, Fox reached a deal with Majed Khalil, a Venezuelan businessman who had separately filed a defamation case against the network for falsely accusing him of playing a key role in rigging the 2020 election.
Lou Dobbs, a former Fox News commentator, had accused Khalil of orchestrating a non-existent scheme to fix the election. Dobbs will testify in the Dominion trial alongside key network figures such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Bret Baier and Dana Perino.
Dominion has also filed a subpoena asking for the testimony of 92 year-old billionaire magnate and Fox CEO Rudolph Murdoch, as well as his son and Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch.
In a separate interview last month, Mr. Murdoch said he didn't believe the 2020 election was rigged.
Although no explanation was given for the trial's one-day delay, Judge Davis said such a postponement did not seem unusual and that it's normal for high-profile trials to suffer small hold-ups.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, several Fox News anchors made unproven claims that the election was rigged through Dominion's electronic voting systems.
In 2021, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit, saying that following Fox's defamatory statements, Dominion's business suffered enormously. A audit by Dominion puts losses for the company north of $900 million due to losses in profits, potential new businesses, legal, security and other expenses.
The NPR report says several employees were also subjected to violent threats from supporters of the rigged election theory.
The New York Times reported that Fox lawyers in New York have argued the case is about the First Amendment protections of the media's absolute right to cover the news.
Fox's defense wants the network to be protected as commentary and news, making the case a significant case in the history of American free speech lawsuits.
The fact that the election was rigged by several key network figures was raised to doubt by a number of key cable networks, which Fox had been made to hand over.
BofA Securities downgraded Fox to neutral last month, reducing the price target from $42 to $34 and reducing the price target from $42 to $34.
Jessica Reif Ehrlich, an analyst, said the Dominion lawsuit and its associated headlines should continue to be an overhang on shares.
We see increased risks for potential monetary damages and or their brand, she said.
However, Fox stock hasn't been significantly impacted by the news of the trial so far. Shares rose by 2.8% in the previous month and 17% in the last six months.
The Dow Jones was up 0.9% at the time of this writing.