(CNN Business) – “This is the definition of defamation.” That’s what Laura Coates, senior legal analyst at CNN, told Erin Burnett Thursday night as she discussed Smartmatic’s $ 2.7 billion defamation case against Fox News, three of the network’s anchors (Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro ), Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
“If you make statements that are intentionally false, and you make them maliciously, and you really damage a reputation and that has financial consequences, then you have defamation cases in the first place,” said Coates, explaining the seriousness of the lawsuit.
Coates isn’t alone in believing the Smartmatic lawsuit poses a real threat to Fox. Professor Jonathan Peters, a professor of media law at the University of Georgia, noted on Twitter that “the defamation law makes it difficult to triumph when the plaintiff is a public figure and / or when the speech is in a matter of public interest. manners are the key issues in litigation. ”But Peters added that he believed the“ smart money ”is in Smartmatic.
That seemed to be the general consensus among legal experts who commented on the case on Thursday.
Although Fox described the lawsuit as “without merit,” Powell called it a “political maneuver,” and Giuliani said he is looking forward to the evidence, but most legal experts believed it had some strength.
“This lawsuit is a legitimate threat, a real one,” said Ellie Honig, legal analyst at CNN. There is a real tooth in this.
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And Roy Gutterman, who heads the Tully Center for Freedom of Expression at Syracuse University, echoed it The Washington Post: «This complaint captures a compelling story with its more than 270 pages. It will certainly be interesting to see how the defendants frame their responses.
This is not a claim for damages
Brian Stelter writes: “Defamation lawsuits against media organizations generally run on a slippery slope. Journalists have good reason to be concerned about these things. And damages lawsuits against newsrooms are a real problem. “
“But I think it is safe to say that Smartmatic’s action against Fox is not a lawsuit and has little to do with the news. It will be difficult for Fox to wrap its hosts in a press freedom banner. This case is about entertainment professionals who spurred the lies in a desperate attempt to keep Trump in power. “
“Disinformation now has free rein”
When I spoke to Smartmatic’s attorney, Erik Connolly, about the fame of ‘pink slime’ on the case, I urged him if he was concerned that his lawsuit would set a precedent that could ultimately harm press freedom.
His response was that the lawsuit would be beneficial to legitimate news organizations.
“I think this is the kind of case we need to make right now to try and get away from misinformation,” Connolly told me. “Disinformation is currently running wild. Cases like this could be an archery that the courts can provide that says, ‘Let’s go back to reality. Let’s go back to the actual reports. ‘
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A world of people who ‘tell blatant lies’
Stelter writes, “I was struck by something that Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer representing author E. Jean Carroll, related The New York Times. Carroll is suing Trump for defamation. Kaplan “stated that the plethora of slanderous circumstances accompanying the president was remarkable,” as there is the impression that such cases are difficult to win. ‘
“What has changed,” said Kaplan, “and the reason we are seeing so many more defamation cases today than ever before is that frankly we live in a world where people with legitimacy and authority don’t seem to feel some remorse. for telling outright lies. ‘
“This is partly why other legal experts say Smartmatic has a strong case: lies are explicit and easy to debunk. And so it may not be that difficult to prove that Fox and his presenters knew, or should have known, that they were telling lies, which is the standard of ‘real malice’ that public figures must adhere to in defamation cases.… ”.
Lies have consequences
It is crucial to point out how the myriad conspiracy theories promoted against Smartmatic have had an impact on the company.
In his lawsuit, Smartmatic outlined some of the consequences: a wave of threats against its employees, a “rapid wave” of cyber-attacks and hundreds of millions of dollars in expected revenue losses.
The CEO and founder, Antonio Mugica, told me that “there was no other option” for the company but to file the lawsuit. “The disinformation campaign launched against us is devastating. For us this is existential and we must act.