Smartmatic v. Fox: $2.7B Litigation

Voting-technology company Smartmatic’s $2.7B defamation suit over Fox’s 2020-election coverage, the last major 2020 defamation case still standing against Fox after its $787.5M Dominion settlement, now trial-ready, with summary judgment argued and under submission.

LATEST DEVELOPMENT · MAY 7, 2026

In May 2026, a New York appellate panel gave Fox limited additional discovery into how the federal bribery indictment affected Smartmatic’s business but refused to pause the case or vacate the note of issue. The summary-judgment motions argued on 2 December 2025 remain undecided and no trial date has been set.

PREDICTED OUTCOME

AI-GENERATED · METHODOLOGY →

Settlement ~62% likely HORIZON: by late 2027 CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM

The most likely ending is a negotiated payment from Fox to Smartmatic, roughly 60 percent likely, struck after Justice Cohen rules on the cross-motions and a trial date concentrates minds, probably between late 2026 and late 2027. Expect the summary-judgment decision to trim claims and defendants while leaving a core of statements alive on actual malice, which is the posture that produced the $787.5 million Dominion deal on the eve of opening statements. The dominant driver is asymmetric leverage on damages: Fox faces damaging internal admissions, but Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion loss theory now competes with a federal bribery indictment of the company itself, which supplies an obvious alternative cause for lost contracts and hands Fox a causation and credibility defense it did not have against Dominion. Smartmatic also needs cash and a clean exit far more than Fox needs a verdict, and its criminal exposure makes a long public trial with executive cross-examination genuinely dangerous. A realistic number is $150 million to $600 million, well under the Dominion figure and possibly structured with no apology and confidentiality on internal documents. The leading alternative, around 25 percent, is that Fox wins substantial partial summary judgment on fair-report or damages grounds, Smartmatic’s negotiating position collapses, and the case ends in a token settlement or a defense-favorable judgment on appeal. A full jury verdict for Smartmatic at anything near the headline demand is the least likely path.

Bribery indictment undercuts Smartmatic’s causation and damages case · Dominion’s $787.5M eve-of-trial deal sets Fox’s settlement template · Case survived dismissal and is trial-ready with note of issue intact · Smartmatic needs cash and fears public trial testimony · Fox’s internal admissions make actual-malice defense risky at trial

Generated by claude-opus-5 on Aug 4, 2026, from this case’s record only. It stands until a major development changes the record. Not legal or investment advice. How predictions are made →

BACKGROUND

Smartmatic sued Fox in the New York Supreme Court in February 2021, alleging that Fox News amplified false claims that Smartmatic’s software had helped rig the 2020 presidential election. The company seeks $2.7B and, alongside Fox Corporation and Fox News, named on-air figures Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro and Lou Dobbs and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Fox calls the suit a ‘meritless cash grab’ and invokes fair-report and newsworthiness defenses. The case survived Fox’s motions to dismiss and appellate challenges and, before Justice David B. Cohen in the Commercial Division, reached a trial-ready posture.

Cross-motions for summary judgment were argued on 2 December 2025 and remain under submission, with no trial date set as of mid-2026. A collateral thread has become central to the discovery fights: the U.S. Department of Justice charged Smartmatic executives, and, in an October 2025 superseding indictment, the company itself, with foreign-bribery offenses tied to Philippine election dealings. New York’s appellate courts allowed Fox limited discovery into the indictment (in May 2025 to access the charging materials, and again in May 2026 to probe the indictment’s impact on Smartmatic’s business) but rejected Fox’s bids to stay the case or vacate the trial-ready note of issue.

TIMELINE

MAY 7, 2026APPEAL

Appellate panel grants Fox limited additional discovery. Refuses to pause case

The court allowed discovery into the indictment’s impact on Smartmatic’s business but declined to stay the case or vacate the note of issue.

Fox News granted additional discovery in Smartmatic case
DEC 2, 2025HEARING

Summary judgment argued. Decision reserved

Justice Cohen heard cross-motions for summary judgment. A ruling remained pending into mid-2026.

Fox News granted additional discovery in Smartmatic case
MAY 14, 2025APPEAL

Appellate Division lets Fox access bribery-indictment materials

A New York appellate court held the 2024 federal bribery-indictment materials against Smartmatic executives were relevant to Fox’s defense.

NY Appeals Court Lets Fox Access Smartmatic Bribery-Indictment Materials
MAY 2025FILING

Both sides move for summary judgment

Fox and Smartmatic filed dueling summary-judgment motions, with Fox arguing fair-report protection and Smartmatic pointing to internal admissions.

Fox News, Smartmatic file dueling motions for summary judgment
FEB 4, 2021FILING

Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation suit against Fox

Smartmatic sued Fox Corporation, Fox News, three hosts and Rudy Giuliani over claims that its software rigged the 2020 election.

Fox News, Smartmatic file dueling motions for summary judgment