Francis Pileggi Speaks with Law360 About Fox News' Delaware Defamation Trial

Wilmington, Del. (April 17, 2023) – Wilmington Managing Partner Francis G.X. Pileggi recently spoke with Law360 for an article on the defamation suit involving Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News, scheduled for trial in Delaware state court this week.

As the article, titled “Fox Faces Unusually Steep Odds As Defamation Trial Looms” describes, Dominion claims that it incurred $1.6 billion in damages due to Fox promoting false allegations that Dominion’s voting machines were used to steal votes from then-President Donald Trump during the 2020 election. The article notes that in this matter, Dominion is “believed to have a fighting chance for victory in an area of law notoriously difficult for plaintiffs.”

In discussing the challenges for plaintiffs in defamation matters, Mr. Pileggi told Law360 that defamation cases are hard to win and damages difficult to prove. He explained, "Unless one only seeks a pyrrhic victory, there must be a proximate causation established between the defamation and loss of money, or a quantifiable loss, which is not easy to establish or calculate.”

The article points out that the judge in the Dominion matter has already determined that Fox committed defamation per se, that Fox could not assert privileges for opinion or for fair or neutral reporting to shield itself, and that Fox was entitled to punitive damages. As such, a critical issue for the jury will be Fox's liability for actual malice, which may multiply damages.

Mr. Pileggi is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practice. He focuses primarily on high-stakes disputes of corporations, stockholders, members of boards of directors, members and managers of LLCs, and those with managerial or ownership interests in other forms of entities. In addition, since 2004, Mr. Pileggi has maintained the Delaware Corporate & Commercial Litigation Blog, at www.delawarelitigation.com, in which he analyzes key corporate and commercial decisions from Delaware's Supreme Court and Court of Chancery.

Read the full Law360 article here (subscription may be required).