New York rejects Fox News’ bid to end voting firm’s lawsuit

Fox News lost an attempt on Tuesday to shut down a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit that accuses the network of spreading lies that a voting technology company helped “steal” the 2020 election from Donald Trump.

New York’s supreme court appellate division, a mid-level appeals court, ruled against the network, which wanted judges to dismiss the $2.7bn case.

The company that brought the case, Smartmatic, has said it played a valid and small role in the election. It hailed the ruling as a step toward holding Fox News accountable for amplifying unsupported and damaging claims from Trump’s lawyers.

Fox News cast the case as an attempt to chill journalism, expressing confidence it would prevail.

The decision means Smartmatic’s suit continues against Fox News, hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, former host Lou Dobbs and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. A claim against the Trump lawyer Sidney Powell was dismissed earlier because she doesn’t have ties to New York, where the case was filed.

The five-judge ruling concluded there were “significant allegations” that Giuliani and Powell defamed the company.