New York City's pension funds and the state of Oregon have accused Fox Corp., its board, and executives in a lawsuit of neglecting their duty to shareholders by making themselves liable to defamation lawsuits by broadcasting "falsehoods" about the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday under seal at Delaware Chancery Court and is the latest legal action against Fox Corp. and its cable network, Fox News, since the company agreed to a $787.5 million settlement in April with Dominion Voting Systems over a defamation lawsuit.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the city's five pension funds represent 800,000 workers and retirees and are worth $253 billion. A spokesperson for New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told the Times the funds held about 857,000 shares of Fox Corp., valued at $28.10 million, as of July 31.
The office of Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a news release Tuesday the state held 150,146 shares of Class A stock and 76,169 shares of Class B stock of Fox Corp. worth approximately $5.2 million.
"The board of Fox Corporation took a massive risk in pursuing profits by perpetuating and peddling known falsehoods," Rosenblum said in the release. "The directors' choices exposed themselves and the company to liability and exposed their shareholders to significant risks. That is the crux of our lawsuit, and we look forward to making our case in court."
The Times reported it viewed a copy of the complaint, which will be sealed for five days until redactions can be made. It said the lawsuit accuses Fox Corp. of trying to appease viewers after the 2020 presidential election by amplifying claims by Donald Trump and his allies that voting had been rigged.
It said board directors had known there was a risk of defamation litigation from broadcasting such narratives, but "consciously disregarded" it and did not undertake good-faith efforts to minimize that risk.
"Defendants chose to invite robust defamation claims, with potentially huge financial liability and potentially larger business repercussions, rather than disappoint viewers of Fox News," said the complaint, according to the Times.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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