Of the four major defamation cases Smartmatic brought over false 2020 election-rigging claims, two have settled and two have not. Newsmax paid $40 million in September 2024. One America News settled on confidential terms in April 2024. A federal judge ruled in September 2025 that MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed Smartmatic, but damages have not yet been decided. The $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News remains open, with no settlement, no trial date, and summary judgment motions still pending before a New York judge as of mid-2026.
Newsmax: $40 Million
Newsmax settled with Smartmatic on September 26, 2024, in the middle of jury selection for a four-week trial in Delaware Superior Court.1NPR. Newsmax, Smartmatic Settlement in Defamation Election Lawsuit Both sides described it only as a “confidential settlement” at the time. Smartmatic’s lawyer Erik Connolly said “lying to the American people has consequences.”2CNN. Newsmax, Smartmatic Settle Defamation Case
The dollar figure stayed hidden until March 2025, when a Newsmax investor document showed the company had paid $40 million. Smartmatic had originally sought between $400 million and $600 million, but Judge Eric Davis had ruled before the settlement that Smartmatic could not pursue punitive damages, finding “no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent.”3Reuters. Newsmax Agreed to Pay $40 Million to Settle Defamation Suit
One America News: Confidential Terms
Smartmatic and OAN reached a confidential settlement on April 16, 2024, ending a lawsuit filed in 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning OAN cannot be sued again on the same claims.4The New York Times. Smartmatic and OAN Settle Defamation Suit Financial terms were not disclosed, and no public retraction by OAN was reported.5Reuters. Smartmatic, One America News Settle Election Defamation Lawsuit
Mike Lindell: Liability Ruling, Damages Still Open
Smartmatic sued Lindell and MyPillow in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in January 2022, alleging he repeatedly claimed Smartmatic’s voting machines rigged the 2020 election. On September 26, 2025, Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled that Lindell had defamed the company, identifying 51 specific false statements. The judge wrote that “no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true.”6CBS News. MyPillow Founder Mike Lindell Defamed Smartmatic, Federal Judge Rules
The ruling did not end the case. Judge Bryan deferred the question of “actual malice” — whether Lindell knew his statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth — to later proceedings, citing factual disputes over Lindell’s claim that he genuinely believed what he was saying. Smartmatic’s attorney has said the company will seek “nine-figure damages.”7The Guardian. MyPillow Mike Lindell Smartmatic The case remains active.8CourtListener. Smartmatic USA Corp. v. Lindell
Fox News: No Settlement, Case Still Pending
The Fox case is the one people most often ask about, and it has not settled. Smartmatic filed the suit in February 2021 in New York State Supreme Court, seeking $2.7 billion and naming Fox News hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro as defendants alongside Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.9Courthouse News. Fox Loses Bid to Pause Smartmatic Defamation Case The complaint alleges Fox knowingly linked Smartmatic to false vote-rigging conspiracy theories to retain viewers after the election.10The New York Times. Smartmatic Fox News Defamation Case
Fox has defended its coverage as newsworthy and protected by free-speech principles, and it has never issued an apology or retraction related to those broadcasts.11The Daily Record. Fox News Dominion Smartmatic Lawsuits Ratings
Summary Judgment Motions
Both sides filed motions for summary judgment in May 2025, each asking Justice David B. Cohen to resolve the case without a jury trial.12ABC News. Fox News, Smartmatic File Dueling Motions for Summary Judgment Justice Cohen heard oral arguments on December 2, 2025, and expressed skepticism toward Smartmatic’s argument that Fox’s “actual malice” could be decided as a matter of law rather than by a jury.13New York Law Journal. Voting Machine Co. Says Judge, Not Jury, Should Decide Key Issue in Fox News Defamation Case As of mid-2026, he has not ruled, and no trial date has been set.10The New York Times. Smartmatic Fox News Defamation Case
Fox’s Failed Attempt to Pause the Case
After federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment against Smartmatic’s parent company in October 2025 over alleged bribery in the Philippines, Fox moved to stay the defamation case until the criminal matter was resolved. Justice Cohen denied that request on November 24, 2025, warning that a pause would cause “undue delay.”9Courthouse News. Fox Loses Bid to Pause Smartmatic Defamation Case Fox appealed, and on May 7, 2026, the Appellate Division affirmed the denial, reasoning that the federal criminal case “will not be decisive of the issues” in the defamation case, which centers on the 2020 U.S. election coverage rather than Philippine contracts.14NY Courts. Smartmatic USA Corp. v Fox Corp., Appellate Division Decision
Additional Discovery and Spoliation Fight
The same appellate ruling gave Fox additional discovery rights. Fox may now obtain Smartmatic’s internal documents about the business impact of the federal indictment, including customer communications, on the theory that Smartmatic’s business losses stem from the criminal allegations rather than from Fox’s broadcasts. The court found that the superseding indictment naming Smartmatic as a defendant was an “unusual and unanticipated circumstance” and that Fox would be “substantially prejudiced” without the material.15Washington Examiner. Fox News Additional Discovery in Smartmatic Case16ABC News. Smartmatic Alleges Fox News Destroyed Text Messages
Smartmatic, for its part, has accused Fox of destroying evidence. In a May 2025 filing, the company alleged that Fox and senior executives, including Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, “orchestrated the destruction of text messages across all levels of their corporate hierarchy” from November and December 2020, despite a legal duty to preserve them. Smartmatic has asked the judge to instruct a future jury that Fox destroyed evidence and that jurors could assume those messages would have hurt Fox’s defense.17CNN. Smartmatic Accuses Fox News, Rupert Murdoch of Destroying Evidence Fox called the allegations “stale, baseless discovery issues” and said it would file its own motion alleging Smartmatic had failed to preserve evidence.
How These Numbers Compare to Dominion
Readers often conflate Smartmatic’s cases with the parallel lawsuits filed by Dominion Voting Systems. They are separate. Fox settled with Dominion in April 2023 for $787.5 million, the largest known defamation settlement in history, shortly before that trial began.18The New York Times. Fox Dominion Trial Newsmax later settled with Dominion for $67 million in August 2025.19The New York Times. Newsmax Dominion Defamation Lawsuit Settlement The Fox–Dominion figure is not a Smartmatic settlement, and Smartmatic’s Fox case remains unresolved.
One reason Smartmatic’s damages exposure in the U.S. differs from Dominion’s is scale of use: Smartmatic’s technology was deployed in only one U.S. jurisdiction during the 2020 election, Los Angeles County.2CNN. Newsmax, Smartmatic Settle Defamation Case The Smartmatic litigation has also produced its own record, including testimony from former Fox politics editor Chris Stirewalt that Fox management pressured reporters and disciplined those who fact-checked election fraud claims on air.11The Daily Record. Fox News Dominion Smartmatic Lawsuits Ratings
A note on scope: Smartmatic and several executives face a separate federal criminal case in the Southern District of Florida over alleged bribery in the 2016 Philippine elections. That matter is not a defamation settlement and is not resolved; Smartmatic has denied the charges and has moved to dismiss the superseding indictment as vindictive prosecution.20The New York Times. Smartmatic Trump Indictment Vindictive Prosecution It has become part of the Fox case only because Fox is using it to argue about the source of Smartmatic’s damages.