By Jack Queen
(Reuters) - One of the most closely watched U.S. media trials in decades kicks off in a Delaware court on Tuesday as Fox Corp and Fox News face a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems over the network's coverage of false claims that the ballot-counter company rigged the 2020 presidential election.
Here is a timeline of key events leading up to the trial: November 3, 2020 -- Just before midnight on Election Day, Fox becomes the first media outlet to call the crucial swing state of Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden, the victor of the 2020 presidential race. The decision drew the swift ire of then-President Donald Trump and his allies. November 8, 2020 -- A day after calling the election for Biden, Fox invites Trump ally and lawyer Sidney Powell on air for the first time, and she falsely accuses Dominion of “fraud” and “flipping votes” in Biden’s favor. November 13, 2020 -- Fox’s internal fact checking unit determines there was “no evidence of widespread fraud” in the election or of “major problems with Dominion’s systems," internal Fox documents show. November 15, 2020 -- Fox’s daytime average audience reaches a 35% decline since the eve of the election, according to statistics cited in Dominion's lawsuit. Viewership at right-wing competitors soared over the same period. November, 2020 onward -- A steady stream of audits and investigations by election authorities finds no evidence of vote-tampering, and Dominion demands Fox retract its coverage multiple times. December 2020 to January 2021 -- Powell and Rudy Giuliani, another former Trump attorney and vocal booster of election conspiracy theories, repeatedly appear on Fox to spread their false claims. March 26, 2021 -- Dominion sues Fox News in Delaware Superior Court. The company would separately sue Fox Corp eight months later, and the cases would eventually be consolidated. December 16, 2021 -- Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denies Fox’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.March 31, 2023 -- Davis rules that the statements aired on Fox were false, defamatory and not covered by legal protections for the press under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The decision leaves Fox largely limited to disputing Dominion’s damages claim and arguing it did not intentionally defame the company nor act recklessly.
April 12, 2023 -- Davis sanctions Fox after it was revealed that the network failed to turn over relevant recordings and transcripts until the eve of trial. Fox's lawyers said they turned them over as soon as they obtained them from a former employee who is separately suing the network.
April 16, 2023 -- Davis delays trial by one day without giving a reason, but two sources told Reuters that Fox and Dominion were holding last-minute settlement talks.