Fox News moves to dismiss coronavirus-related lawsuit
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Fox News commentators’ statements on the coronavirus were “core political speech” protected by the First Amendment, Fox News said in a motion filed Tuesday seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Washington state group that charges the news organization with violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act.
In its lawsuit filed earlier this month in state court in Seattle, the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics charged that Fox News “knowingly disseminated false, erroneous, and incomplete information” in its reporting on the coronavirus.
The lawsuit, Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics v. Fox News et al., cites the March 9 broadcasts by Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Trish Regan. Ms. Regan was later fired by the network after she said that coronavirus concerns were another attempt to impeach the president, while Mr. Hannity remains at the network.
“The case presents a frontal assault on the freedom of speech,” Fox News said in its motion to dismiss the case. “Fox’s statements are core political speech on a matter of public concern — how dangerous the coronavirus is, and how society should respond to it.
“Under the First Amendment and state law, the truth or falsity of this type of speech must be resolved through the free and open debate in the marketplace of ideas -not through burdensome litigation seeking to impose legal penalties on political statements that a jury might deem ‘false’ or ‘outrageous,’” the motion said.
The lawsuit should be dismissed because “it flagrantly violates the First Amendment and fails to state a claim under the (Consumer Protection Act) or the tort of ‘outrage,’” it said.
Washington League attorney Catherine C. Clark, who is based in Seattle, said, “The lawsuit really raises the question of what is appropriate speech when the country is under a national health emergency."
More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.
