Smartmatic will not be able to collect punitive damages in its upcoming defamation trial against Newsmax should a jury rule in its favor, a Delaware judge ruled today.
The ruling could greatly impact the amount that Smartmatic, an election systems company, will be able to recover in a ruling in its favor. A trial is scheduled to start next week.
Judge Eric M. Davis wrote that the court “will not allow the jury to consider the issue of punitive damages in the trial.”
Davis wrote that Florida law, which is the governing standard in the case, requires that plaintiffs show that defendants engaged in “express malice,” or a specific intent to harm, in order to collect punitive damages.
Earlier this month, Davis rejected Smartmatic’s contention that Newsmax was guilty of “express malice.” Davis found that there “is no evidence that Newsmax acted with evil intent towards Smartmatic or that Newsmax’s proceeded with the intention to hurt Smartmatic. The record is devoid of facts showing that Newsmax harbored any evil or a motive arising from spite or ill as to Smartmatic.”
The judge left it up to the jury to decide if Newsmax was guilty of actual malice, whereby the news outlet is found to have recklessly disregarded the truth.
Smartmatic sued Newsmax in November, 2021, claiming that as the network sought a larger audience, it published dozens of reports indicating that Smartmatic was in a “criminal conspiracy” to rig the results of the election, “and that its technology and software were used to switch votes from former President Trump to now President Biden.”
In fact, Smartmatic did not provide any election machine software outside of Los Angeles during the cycle, the judge noted in his ruling earlier this month.
Smartmatic also contended that the because the term “express malice” is unclear, it could still recover punitive damages “for less egregious conduct.”
But the judge wrote that he found that argument “unconvincing.”
In a statement, Newsmax said, “Today’s ruling means that to recover any damages Smartmatic will have to prove to a jury that Newsmax’s coverage caused Smartmatic’s actual losses. Newsmax’s reporting did not cause Smartmatic damages and after extensive discovery Smartmatic has offered no evidence of such claimed damages.”
Smartmatic said in a statement, “Today’s ruling will not deter us from asking a jury to find that Newsmax should be held liable for its reckless defamation and pay significant damages. Newsmax lied about the 2020 election and must be held accountable. We are looking forward to presenting our case, questioning Newsmax about their coverage, and asking the jury to hold them accountable using whatever remedies are allowed by the court.”
In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Smartmatic and another election systems company, Dominion Voting Systems, filed lawsuits against Newsmax, One America News Network and Fox News. The outlets all featured guests and personalities who amplified claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, Davis also ruled that the “statements regarding Smartmatic software or voting machines altering the results of the Election are factually false. The reports and investigations conducted by multiple state and federal agencies since the Election universally come to the same result.”
The jury, the judge wrote, would have to determine if “Newsmax was doing what media organizations typically do—inform the public of newsworthy events” or if the media outlet did “purposely avoid the truth and defame Smartmatic.”
Newsmax has argued that Smartmatic’s reputation already had suffered because of its ties in the past to the Venezuelan government in the 2004 election. Davis noted that “Venezuelan government financing agencies invested over $200,000 into a smaller company owned by some of the same owners as Smartmatic. Scholarly studies conducted by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the Venezuelan election was compromised.” Smartmatic later closed its offices and ceased operations in the country.
In August, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted Smartmatic executives on allegations related to a bribery scheme in the Philippines. Smartmatic said that the employees indicted were placed on leave. “No voter fraud has been alleged and Smartmatic is not indicted,” the company said.
Davis also presided over Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Just as the case was about to go to trial, the network settled the litigation for $787.5 million.