By Helen Coster
(Reuters) -A judge in Delaware on Sunday delayed by one day the start of the trial in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp over the network’s coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a courthouse spokesperson said.
“The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT),” said Judge Eric Davis, according to the statement, which did not provide a reason for the delay.
“I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E,” he added.
Davis had said on Thursday he expected to conclude jury selection on Monday and to proceed to opening statements.
Dominion and Fox did not immediately reply to requests for comment about the delay.
The trial is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in years, involving a leading cable news outlet with numerous conservative commentators.
Dominion has accused Fox of ruining its reputation by airing baseless claims that its machines secretly changed votes in favor of Democrat Joe Biden, who defeated then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the 2020 presidential election.
Dominion is asking for $1.6 billion in damages, a figure Fox has said is unrealistic and based on flawed economic modeling.
An expert report commissioned by Dominion attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox’s coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.
Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.
Dominion has said Fox’s conduct was damaging to American democracy and that the network must be held accountable, while Fox said on Friday that Dominion’s lawsuit was a threat to press freedom.
“While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, Fox News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press,” Fox said in a statement.
The primary question for jurors is whether Fox knowingly spread false information or recklessly disregarded the truth, the standard of “actual malice” that Dominion must show to prevail in a defamation case.
Dominion says defamatory statements were aired on Fox shows including “Sunday Morning Futures,” “Lou Dobbs Tonight” and “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”
Dominion alleges that Fox staff, ranging from members of the newsroom to the board of directors, knew the statements were false but continued to air them to avoid losing viewers to far-right outlets.
Fox had argued that coverage of the vote-rigging claims was inherently newsworthy and protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of press freedom.
Davis rejected that argument in a ruling last month on both parties’ competing motions for summary judgment.
Fox has also said that Dominion cannot pin actual malice on the individuals whom Dominion says were responsible for the defamatory statements.
(Reporting by Helen Coster and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jamie Freed)