Fox Corp , the parent of Fox News Network, failed to convince a New York state appeals court to dismiss a defamation claim in electronic voting systems company Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit over the network's 2020 post-election coverage.

In 2023, Fox settled a similar lawsuit filed by another election systems company, Dominion Voting Systems, for $787.5 million. Before the settlement, Fox had sought to exclude Rupert Murdoch from testifying in person at a trial, but the Delaware judge rejected that request.

The complaint, which arose out of Fox News’s promotion of vote-rigging conspiracy theories after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, is on track to proceed to trial.

A New York appeals court ruled Thursday that Fox Corporation must face Smartmatic’s mammoth defamation lawsuit over the airing of 2020 election lies on Fox News, dealing a blow to the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media giant.

A New York appeals court has rejected Fox Corp.’s request to toss a $2.7 billion defamation suit from voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic. Smartmatic alleged in a suit that the Fox News parent company “effectively endorsed and participated in” a campaign suggesting that the voting machine company participated in election fraud by manipulating the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The latest ruling represents a key victory for Smartmatic’s efforts to go after the right-wing media outlet over its promotion of debunked claims that the election was stolen from former President