Don’t Sell The Dominion Lawsuit Short. It Could Be Crippling For Fox. For One Reason

One thing I have to say about FUX News lawyers, they’re not much better than Trump lawyers. I dunno, maybe it’s the same Walmart firm. But if there’s one thing I already know as the worlds worst poker player, when your opponent has three Aces face up, you don’t bluff with a pair of 2’s.

Which is what the FUX News legal beagles did. They filed a summary dismissal motion with the New York federal court that is hearing the Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 billion defamation suit against FUX. Their lame ass thrust was since there was no substantive argument on the facts, and since FUX News enjoyed 1st Amendment rights, the judge should just summarily throw the case out of court.

The dipshits should have just shut the hell up. The Dominion lawyers responded with a 100+ page response, and it was a bombshell. In the filing they posted actual testimony from FUX News CEO Rupert Murdoch, in which he not only admitted that he had no doubts that there was no electoral fraud, and his only goal was to placate Trump for ratings, but he also admitted that he could have stopped the bullshit, but didn’t. This is the kind of testimony that gives lawyers wet dreams.

But up until now, everybody has been fixated on the $1.6 billion price tag on the Dominion lawsuit. And I’m here to tell ya folks, that ain’t chump change. Hell, if I had $1.6 billion in my kick, I’d but my own little island off of Kauai and live like a prince.

But here’s what you have to understand. That 1.6 billion that Dominion is for what is referred to as compensatory damages. To be clear, $1.6 billion is estimated to be the net profit for FUX News in a year. So if Dominion wins, and FUX has to pony up, they basically broadcast for a year for free. Not good juju for FUX, but other than a stock drop, nothing that threatens the basic corporate structure or solvency.

But here’s the McGuffin. That $1.6 billion only deals with the amount of business that FUX”s slander cost Dominion in revenue, estimating the company’s loss of revenue, from the start of the defamation campaign, and going forward into lost revenue in the future. That $1.6 billion is what Dominion wants from FUX to compensate them for what the slander cost the company.

But that’s not all. Dominion also has the right to ask for punitive damages against FUX News for defaming them in the first place. If I knock you off of your bike with my car, I should pay for your medical bills, as well as your lost work time, but why shouldn’t I have to pay for being such a dick in the first place? Those are punitive damages. And in New York state, where the trial will be held, there are no limits on punitive damages.

And that’s where the wicket gets sticky. Because while $1.6 billion might not do anything more than short sheet the stock price, another $1.5 billion or more could put a serious crimp in FUXS operating revenue. And that could significantly impact FUX’s ability to operate on a day by day basis.

I have yet to hear a legal analyst, either on CNN or MSNBC who doesn’t think that FUX is toast on the defamation charge. They played too fast and loose in their communications to plausibly claim that they weren’t defaming Dominion. But how far FUX goes into the hurt locker depends solely on the amount of punitive damages the jury awards. And there’s no way to even guess at that until we get the verdict. Trial is set for April 21st. Don’t touch that dial.