Dominion Voting Systems has filed defamation lawsuits against Newsmax, One America News Network and Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock, over their advancement of conspiracy theories that company had a role in rigging the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuits against One America, Newsmax and Byrne each seek more than $1.6 billion in damages.
The Newsmax lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Delaware, and against One America parent Herring Networks and Byrne in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. Also named in the One America complaint were owners Robert Herring and Charles Herring and One America personalities Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb.
“During and after the November 2020 election, OAN saw a business opportunity. Spurred by a quest for profits and viewers, OAN — a competitor to media giant Fox — engaged in a race to the bottom with Fox and other outlets such as Newsmax to spread false and manufactured stories about election fraud,” the company said in the OAN complaint. (Read it here).
In a statement, Dominion CEO John Poulos said, “The defendants in today’s filings recklessly disregarded the truth when they spread lies in November and continue to do so today. We are filing these three cases today because the defendants named show no remorse, nor any sign they intend to stop spreading disinformation. This barrage of lies by the Defendants and others have caused—and continue to cause—severe damage to our company, customers, and employees. We have no choice but to seek to hold those responsible to account.”
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Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in March. The network is seeking to have the claim dismissed, as it contends that the lawsuit is a First Amendment attack on their reporting of then President Donald Trump’s election claims.
More to come.