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April 18 (UPI) -- A $787.5 million settlement has been reached in Dominion Voting System's defamation lawsuit against Fox News just as the trial was scheduled to start Tuesday. According to Dominion, the two sides reached what the company called an "historic" settlement agreement shortly before opening statements were to begin.
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"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and the customers that we serve," Dominion Chief Executive Officer John Poulos said Tuesday afternoon.
"Money is accountability, and we got that today from Fox, but we're not done yet," Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackelford told reporters.
"We have some other people who have some accountability coming toward them," Shackelford said without specifying who. "And we'll move right on to the next one."
"We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," Fox News Media said in a statement after the settlement.
"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems," the network said. "This settlement reflects Fox's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis announced the settlement in court Tuesday, telling the jury, "The parties have resolved their case."
"Your presence here ... was extremely important. And without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation," Davis told the jurors before he dismissed them.
The trial had been scheduled to start Monday and was delayed through Tuesday morning, before the judge returned to announce Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems had settled their case at the last second Tuesday afternoon.
Dominion filed the defamation lawsuit against Fox News parent company Fox Corporation two years ago, after the network said Dominion's voting systems manipulated the 2020 election results.
In the lawsuit, Dominion said its reputation was damaged after Fox News tied the voting systems company to a "rigged" presidential election, as well as paid kickbacks to politicians and the late leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
"The truth matters. Lies have consequences," Dominion, which provided voting machines and software to more than 28 states during the 2020 election, said in the lawsuit.
"Fox sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process," the lawsuit stated.
"Dominion filed this lawsuit to make Fox News pay for participating in that vital debate at a price that would stifle similar debates going forward," the network said in February.
Earlier this month, Judge Davis ruled that Dominion had proven that Fox News' statements about the voting machine company and the 2020 election were false, leaving it up to the jury to decide whether "actual malice" was involved.
Before leaving the courtroom Tuesday, the judge thanked all parties involved.
"I have been on the bench since 2010... I think this is the best lawyering I've had, ever," Davis said. "I would be proud to be your judge in the future."
