By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Fox Corp Class B (NASDAQ:FOX) fell 10% after Dominion Voting System filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network for accusing the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit says Fox endorsed, repeated and broadcast devastating lies about Dominion, including that it committed election fraud by rigging the election, that the company is owned by a Venezuelan company that rigged elections for Hugo Chavez and that it paid kickbacks to government officials who used its machines.
"Fox recklessly disregarded the truth," Dominion said in a suit filed in Delaware on Friday. "Indeed, Fox knew these statements about Dominion were lies."
Dominion isn't the first to file such an action against Fox News. Last month, election technology company Smartmatic filed suit against Fox News for making it into a villain and perpetuating false claims about the recent election, NPR reported. That suit is seeking more than $2.7 billion.
Dominion is seeking at least $1.6 billion in lost profits and enterprise value, plus more than $1 million in security expenses and expenses combating disinformation.
In response, Fox News said it "is proud of our 2020 election coverage, which stands in the highest tradition of American journalism, and will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court," NPR reported.