Firm's defense of media outlet in high-profile defamation case highlighted in news article
The firm’s defense of Newsmax in a defamation lawsuit arising from coverage of the 2020 presidential election was highlighted in a news article concerning the media outlet's request to dismiss the case pending in Delaware Superior Court.
Howard M. Cooper asserted at oral argument that the defamation allegations of Dominion Voting Systems fail as a matter of law, as reported in Delaware Law Weekly, because they do not meet the required “actual malice” standard.
The complaint, Mr. Cooper argued, only alleges that “Newsmax should’ve investigated further. That is not enough. Failure to investigate does not make up actual malice.”
He distinguished Dominion’s separate defamation claim against Fox News Network, noting that Dominion alleges it had contact with 90 reporters at Fox and provided detailed information related to the election. The court previously denied a request by Fox News to dismiss the defamation case against it.
Mr. Cooper further argued that Newsmax was reporting on allegations of voting irregularities and didn’t make those allegations itself.