Fox Corporation is currently defending three major lawsuits: a shareholder derivative action in Delaware tied to the $787.5 million Dominion Voting Systems settlement, a $2.7 billion defamation suit brought by Smartmatic in New York, and an antitrust suit filed by Newsmax. As of 2026, none has been dismissed, none has reached trial, and each is at a different procedural stage. The Delaware case has cleared a motion to dismiss and is heading into a targeted summary judgment fight. The Smartmatic case is awaiting a summary judgment ruling. The Newsmax case has been bounced between federal courts and faces a renewed motion to dismiss.
The Delaware Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit
The most advanced case against Fox is In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation, pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Five New York City pension funds and the State of Oregon are the lead plaintiffs, suing on behalf of the company against its own directors and officers.1NYC Comptroller. NYC Pension Funds Sue Fox Corporation Board for Breach of Fiduciary Duty2Justia. In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation
Who Is Being Sued and For What
The named defendants include Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, the company’s top legal officer, and directors Chase Carey, Jacques Nasser, and Roland Hernandez.3Cohen Milstein. Fox Corp Class Battle Over Multibillion-Dollar Defamation Suit The plaintiffs allege breach of fiduciary duty under a Caremark oversight theory combined with a Massey claim, arguing that Fox leadership adopted an illegal business model by knowingly profiting from actionable defamation and treating lawsuits as a cost of doing business.4Cohen Milstein. Fox Corp Shareholder Derivative Litigation
They want the individual directors and officers to reimburse Fox for the $787.5 million Dominion settlement, related legal fees, and any liability from the pending Smartmatic case.2Justia. In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation
The December 2024 Ruling Letting the Case Proceed
On December 27, 2024, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, finding that shareholders had adequately shown it would have been futile to ask Fox’s eight-member board to sue itself.5Delaware Courts. In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2023-0418-BWD The court concluded that at least four of the eight directors were either too conflicted or too exposed to evaluate the claims impartially. It found a reasonable inference that Rupert Murdoch faces a substantial risk of liability for breaching his duty of loyalty. It found the claim against Lachlan Murdoch potentially stronger than against his father because of his active involvement in editorial decisions, including frequent texts to Suzanne Scott and attendance at twice-daily editorial meetings.6Delaware Litigation. Chancery Court Lets Suit Over Fox Stolen Election Stories Proceed Due to CEO’s Influence It also found sufficient allegations that Chase Carey and Jacques Nasser lacked independence from Rupert Murdoch because of close and longstanding business and personal ties.
The Murdoch Family Trust controls 43.4% of Fox Corporation’s Class B voting shares, which the court treated as central to the independence analysis.6Delaware Litigation. Chancery Court Lets Suit Over Fox Stolen Election Stories Proceed Due to CEO’s Influence
What Happens Next
On April 28, 2025, Vice Chancellor Bonnie W. David authorized the defendants to file a targeted summary judgment motion on a single question: whether there is actual evidence that Jacques Nasser lacks independence from Rupert Murdoch. If Fox can show Nasser is independent, the count of conflicted directors could fall below the threshold needed to sustain the suit, which the court described as a potential offramp for the defendants. The court also warned that it is disinclined to consider multiple dispositive motions before trial.5Delaware Courts. In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2023-0418-BWD As of mid-2026, the parties are conducting limited discovery on Nasser’s independence, and no ruling has been reported. No trial date has been set.
The Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit
Smartmatic USA sued Fox in February 2021 for $2.7 billion, alleging that Fox News aired false claims that Smartmatic rigged the 2020 presidential election. The defendants include Fox News, Fox Corporation, on-air personalities Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, and the late Lou Dobbs, along with Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell.7NPR. Fox News Smartmatic Lawsuit Election Claims Trial
The Smartmatic Indictment Complication
In October 2025, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida issued a superseding indictment charging Smartmatic’s parent company and three executives with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Prosecutors allege the company paid $1 million in bribes to a Philippine government official in exchange for more than $180 million in election contracts. Fox asked to pause the civil case, arguing the criminal charges undermine Smartmatic’s damages claims. New York State Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen denied the stay in November 2025.8Courthouse News. Fox Loses Bid to Pause Smartmatic Defamation Case
In May 2026, a New York appellate court partly sided with Fox, vacating the case’s Note of Issue so Fox could take additional discovery into how the federal charges have affected Smartmatic’s business and damages. The appellate court affirmed the denial of the stay, ruling that the Philippine bribery case is not decisive of the defamation claims about the 2020 U.S. election.9New York Courts. Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Fox Corp. Smartmatic has said it was improperly targeted by the Trump Department of Justice and has considered a selective-prosecution motion.10Bloomberg Law. Smartmatic Bribery Case Can’t Escape Election Conspiracy Shadow
Current Status
Both sides filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Justice Cohen heard oral arguments in December 2025 but has not yet ruled, and no trial date has been set.11New York Times. Smartmatic Fox News Defamation Case The outcome matters beyond Smartmatic itself, because additional Fox liability would enlarge the recovery sought in the Delaware derivative case.
The Newsmax Antitrust Lawsuit
Rival cable news channel Newsmax filed an antitrust suit against Fox in September 2025. It alleges Fox used exclusionary agreements to preserve a near-monopoly in right-leaning pay TV news, imposing financial penalties on cable and satellite distributors that carried Newsmax on basic tiers and forcing distributors to bundle less-watched Fox-owned channels at extra cost.12New York Times. Newsmax Fox News Lawsuit Antitrust The complaint also alleges Fox hired private detectives and law firms to smear Newsmax executives.13Courthouse News. Newsmax Tries to Make Monopoly Accusations Against Fox News Stick
An earlier version of the complaint was dismissed in the Southern District of Florida as a “shotgun pleading.” Newsmax refiled in the Western District of Wisconsin, but Judge William Conley transferred it back to Florida in April 2026, accusing Newsmax of forum shopping.13Courthouse News. Newsmax Tries to Make Monopoly Accusations Against Fox News Stick In May 2026, Fox filed a renewed motion to dismiss, arguing Newsmax failed to identify any specific distributor that carries Fox News but excludes Newsmax, and challenging the premise that “right-leaning news” is a cognizable antitrust market.14Courthouse News. Fox Slams Newsmax Over Reoccurring Antitrust Claims That motion remains pending.
The Dominion Settlement That Drives the Derivative Case
Although the Dominion case itself is closed, it is the financial event at the heart of the shareholder litigation. On April 18, 2023, Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems settled for $787.5 million on the day their defamation trial was set to begin in Delaware Superior Court.15Reuters. Dominion’s Defamation Case Against Fox Poised for Trial After Delay Dominion had sought $1.6 billion over Fox’s repeated broadcasts of claims that its voting machines rigged the 2020 election. Fox acknowledged “the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”16Fox News Press. Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems Reach Settlement
Before the settlement, the trial judge had denied summary judgment for both Fox News and Fox Corporation and granted Dominion partial summary judgment on falsity, citing Fox’s own internal research unit’s conclusion within days of the election that claims about Dominion switching or deleting votes were “100% false.”17Delaware Courts. US Dominion, Inc. v. Fox News Network, LLC, Summary Judgment Opinion18CNN. Fox News Dominion Lawsuit19NBC News. Dominion Releases Previously Redacted Slides in Fox News Lawsuit Also central to the shareholders’ theory: after Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden on election night, its stock fell 6% within days as viewers migrated to Newsmax and One America News, and internal messages show executives worrying about losing audience.
Fox has publicly maintained that each of the pending cases lacks merit. It has not succeeded in getting any of them dismissed.