UPDATE (5:15 pm Eastern): John Poulous, CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, addressed the press outside the courthouse regarding the suit and settlement, noting:

Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage … Nothing can ever make up for that.

Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos after the $787.5 million settlement with Fox News:

“Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage … Nothing can ever make up for that.” pic.twitter.com/IpxVAucpbO

— The Recount (@therecount) April 18, 2023

UPDATE (4:51 pm Eastern): Per the AP:

An attorney for Dominion said the settlement was for $787.5 million.

Original Story

The Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News will not be proceeding to trial after all. Just hours after jury selection was completed on Tuesday, the judge dismissed the jurors, announcing that the parties had reached a settlement.

Few details are known at this point regarding the settlement (and they may not become known, depending on whether confidentiality is a condition of the parties’ agreement).

News of the agreement came at the start of one of the most consequential media trials in decades. Dominion sued for $1.6 billion over allegations that Fox defamed the voting company by either knowingly or recklessly airing false claims tying voting machines to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 presidential election. Jurors were dismissed just hours after a jury had been selected. It represents a stunning conclusion to the two-year-old legal battle expected to test the limits of U.S. libel law.

Before dismissing the jurors, Judge Eric M. Davis thanked them for their service. He also praised the lawyers for both parties, describing their work as “the best lawyering I’ve had, ever.”

RedState will provide additional details regarding the settlement if they become available.