© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: TENNIS – US OPEN – MEN’S FINAL – NEW YORK, US – SEPTEMBER 10, 2017 – Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch poses with Spain’s Rafael Nadal against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
Written by Judy Godoy and Helen Koster
(Reuters) – A Fox Corp shareholder sued Chairman Rupert Murdoch and four other board members on Tuesday, saying they failed to stop Fox News from reporting falsehoods about the 2020 US presidential election that damaged its credibility and prompted lawsuits.
Contributor Robert Schwartz alleged in the lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court that the directors breached their duties to ensure Fox followed its own ethical standards and avoided reputational risks, and instead sought to keep supporters of former US President Donald Trump in touch.
“FOX knew — from the board of directors onward — that Fox News was reporting dangerous and false information about the 2020 presidential election, but FOX was more concerned about short-term ratings and market share than long-term damages for failing to tell the company, which did not say how many shares it had. that he owns.
A Fox representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit seeks damages to the company from Rupert Murdoch, his son, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, and fellow directors Chase Carey, Roland Hernandez and Jack Nasser. It also seeks unspecified corporate governance reforms.
Schwartz said the board’s failure to act on “red flags” exposed the network to libel allegations by two voting technology companies that Fox reported were involved in a plot to steal the US presidential election from Trump.
Together, the two lawsuits filed by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA seek damages totaling $4 billion.
The trial in the Dominion case is scheduled to begin in Delaware Supreme Court with opening statements on Monday and is expected to last five weeks.
Dominion alleges that Fox ruined its business by knowingly broadcasting false claims that vote-counting machines were used to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Fox argued that allegations of election fraud by Trump and his attorneys were inherently newsworthy and protected by legal doctrines on freedom of the press.
In March, a trove of exhibits in the lawsuit was released, including emails and statements in which Rupert Murdoch and other senior Fox executives said allegations made about Dominion on Air were false.
The shareholder lawsuit cited motions in the Dominion lawsuit, which said Murdoch admitted under cross-examination by Dominion attorneys that some Fox hosts “endorsed” the idea of stealing the election. Murdoch said in the deposition that he believes Biden won fairly.
The case is Schwarz v. Murdoch et al., No. 2023-0418, Delaware Chancery Court.