If you thought the fallout from the 2020 election was buried in the history books, think again. In a New York courtroom right now, a multi-billion-dollar legal war is reaching its boiling point. The Smartmatic Fox lawsuit update for 2026 isn't just a dry legal footnote—it is a massive, high-stakes collision between a voting technology company trying to save its brand and a media giant fighting to protect its bank account and its reputation.
Honestly, it's kind of wild how long this has been dragging on. Smartmatic is suing Fox News and Fox Corporation for a staggering $2.7 billion. They claim Fox knowingly aired lies about their voting machines to keep viewers from switching to even more right-wing networks like Newsmax or OAN.
While Fox already settled with Dominion Voting Systems for a record-breaking $787.5 million back in 2023, they haven't blinked yet with Smartmatic. But as we move into early 2026, the walls are starting to close in.
Where the Case Stands Right Now
Late last year, the New York Supreme Court handed Smartmatic a massive win. Justice David B. Cohen basically told Fox "no more delays." Fox had been trying to hit the pause button on the entire civil case because Smartmatic is currently dealing with its own federal indictment in the Philippines involving bribery allegations.
Fox’s lawyers argued that the bribery case ruins Smartmatic’s claim that they had a "pristine reputation" before the 2020 election coverage. If your reputation is already messy, you can't really claim a news network "destroyed" it, right? That’s the Fox logic. But the judge didn't buy it. He ruled that the trial must move forward because pausing would cause "undue delay."
The Evidence Dump
Recently, a trove of thousands of internal documents was released. It's the kind of stuff that makes corporate lawyers lose sleep. We’re talking about internal text messages where high-level executives and hosts were basically admitting they knew the "stolen election" narrative was nonsense.
- Rupert Murdoch's Deposition: When asked if he took steps to stop hosts from endorsing stolen election claims, his answer was a blunt, "No. No."
- The Lachlan Murdoch Ultimatum: Documents showed Lachlan Murdoch telling Sean Hannity that Donald Trump couldn't come back on the air if he planned to attack the network.
- The Spoliation Motion: Smartmatic is currently accusing Fox of "willfully destroying evidence," specifically text messages from top brass. They want the court to punish Fox for this before the jury even sits down.
Why 2026 is the Year of Reckoning
We are finally past the endless "discovery" phase where lawyers just trade boxes of emails. The case is set to proceed to summary judgment arguments. This is the part where the judge decides if the evidence is so lopsided that a trial isn't even needed on certain issues.
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Smartmatic's lead attorney, Erik Connolly, has been very vocal. He’s basically saying that Fox is running the "multi-billion-dollar defendant playbook"—delay, spend, and exhaust. But the court is finally saying "enough."
The "Other" Settlements
It’s worth noting that Smartmatic hasn't just been sitting around waiting for Fox. They’ve been knocking out other players.
- Newsmax: Settled for roughly $40 million in 2025.
- OAN: Settled for an undisclosed amount.
- Mike Lindell: Smartmatic actually won a summary judgment against the MyPillow CEO and his company late last year.
The fact that these other companies settled or lost suggests that Smartmatic has a very strong hand. Fox is the "Final Boss" in this scenario.
The Strategy: Damage Control vs. Total Victory
Fox isn't just arguing that they didn't lie; they're arguing about the price tag. $2.7 billion is a lot of money, even for the Murdochs. Fox claims Smartmatic was already struggling financially and that their damage claims are "grossly inflated."
On the flip side, Smartmatic argues that the disinformation campaign was so global and so toxic that it basically made them "radioactive" in the election industry. You've got to remember, Smartmatic only provided services to Los Angeles County in 2020, yet they were painted as a Venezuelan-linked shadow organization rigging the whole country. That’s a hard label to shake off.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often confuse this with the Dominion case. While they are similar, Smartmatic is seeking nearly three times the amount of money Dominion asked for. Also, Smartmatic is going after the parent company, Fox Corporation, not just the news channel.
There's also a misconception that the Philippine bribery indictment kills the lawsuit. It doesn't. It might lower the "damages" (the payout), but it doesn't change whether or not Fox aired false statements with "actual malice." In defamation law, the truth of the statement matters most, and so far, no one has proven the election was rigged by voting machines.
Actionable Insights for Following the Case
If you're tracking this, keep your eyes on these specific milestones over the next few months:
- The Summary Judgment Ruling: If the judge rules in favor of Smartmatic here, Fox might be forced to settle. They do not want a jury seeing those internal "we know this is crazy" texts in an open courtroom.
- The "Spoliation" Decision: If the judge decides Fox really did delete evidence on purpose, he could give "adverse inference" instructions to the jury. Basically, he’d tell the jury to assume the deleted texts were bad for Fox.
- The Trial Date: If no settlement is reached, we are looking at a massive trial later in 2026 that will likely be televised or at least heavily scrutinized.
The bottom line? Fox is running out of exits. They’ve successfully pushed this off for years, but the New York court system has finally run out of patience. Whether it ends in a massive check or a public trial, the next few months will decide the future of one of the biggest media companies in the world.
Watch the court filings in the New York Supreme Court (Case No. 151136/2021) if you want the raw data. The "day of reckoning" that Smartmatic keeps talking about is finally on the calendar.