Fox News’ Motion to Dismiss Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit Is Denied by N.Y. Supreme Court

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News Channel by the voting-technology company Smartmatic can proceed, despite Fox’s motion to have the matter dismissed.

The suit is the second of its kind that has cleared a potential legal hurdle and has been allowed to continue making its way through the courts.In the suit, filed in February of last year, Smartmatic alleged that Fox News and three of its popular on-air personalities at the time — Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro —  made false claims about the company’s actions and influence on the 2020 presidential election, or allowed such claims to continue to circulate.

Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, two attorneys who had been working for President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election that resulted in victory for President Joe Biden, are also named in the suit.

The judge, David Cohen, threw out claims against Pirro and Powell, as well as some claims against Giuliani. But the claims against Bartiromo and Dobbs were allowed to stand.