“Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers,” Fox said in response to the lawsuit.
A Florida-based federal judge has dismissed Newsmax’s antitrust lawsuit against Fox News less than a day after it was filed.
According to CNBC, in a Thursday decision, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon characterized the lawsuit as a “shotgun complaint,” with four out of its five core counts incorporated all of the allegations made in the first count.
However, while Cannon discarded the suit in its current form, she will still permit Newsmax to re-file an amended claim.
“The amended complaint must not contain any successive counts that incorporate all prior allegations,” she wrote. “Each count must identify the particular legal basis for liability and contain specific factual allegations that support each cause of action within each count.”
“Failure to comply with this Order may result in dismissal of the case without further notice,” Cannon added, with her decision giving Newsmax another week to rework, revise, and refile its complaint.
In a statement to CNBC, Newsmax posited Cannon’s ruling as a “technical matter.”
“We understand this is just a technical matter and our law firm is refiling,” Newsmax said.
In its initial filing, Newsmax claimed that Fox, the country’s leading conservative entertainment network, leverages its vast resources and far-reaching influence to “coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”
CNN notes that, contrary to its own claims, Newsmax does have a sizeable audience, with a recent quarterly report indicating that Newsmax is broadcast to more than 26 million quarterly viewers and more than 60 million U.S. homes.
Fox, for its part, has lambasted the lawsuit, claiming that Newsmax chose to sue because it cannot compete with Fox’s purportedly superior product.
“Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers,” Fox said in response to the lawsuit.
Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, drew extensive criticism after she was assigned to a criminal case against the then-former-president, who had been charged for allegedly mishandling classified material. She dismissed the case in July 2024, months before the general election, stating that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment violated the U.S. Constitution.
Smith appealed the ruling, but the case was ultimately dropped by the U.S. Department of Justice after Trump was inaugurated for a second term in January of this year.
Fox News has yet to offer substantive comment on the case, opting instead to refer journalists to Cannon’s ruling.
Sources
Judge dismisses Newsmax’s antitrust suit against Fox News, but will allow amended complaint
Newsmax’s lawsuit against Fox hits a snag as judge dismisses it as ‘shotgun pleading’
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