A New York appeals court ruled Thursday that Fox Corporation must face Smartmatic’s mammoth defamation lawsuit over the airing of 2020 election lies on Fox News, dealing a blow to the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media giant.

The complaint, which arose out of Fox News’s promotion of vote-rigging conspiracy theories after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, is on track to proceed to trial.

Fox Corp , the parent of Fox News Network, failed to convince a New York state appeals court to dismiss a defamation claim in electronic voting systems company Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit over the network's 2020 post-election coverage.

A New York appellate court declined to toss Fox Corp. from Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation case. Smartmatic sued Fox News and Fox Corp. following the 2020 presidential election, claiming that on-air personalities and guests amplified false claims that it was involved in rigging the ballots.

Fox Corp. will have to face defamation claims for statements aired on Fox News, a New York appellate court ruled Thursday.

A New York state appeals court rejected Fox Corp. bid to throw out a defamation lawsuit by Smartmatic over false claims that the voting technology company helped rig the 2020 presidential election. The ruling on Thursday allows the case to proceed toward trial.

A New York appeals court has rejected Fox Corp.’s request to toss a $2.7 billion defamation suit from voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic. Smartmatic alleged in a suit that the Fox News parent company “effectively endorsed and participated in” a campaign suggesting that the voting machine company participated in election fraud by manipulating the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The latest ruling represents a key victory for Smartmatic’s efforts to go after the right-wing media outlet over its promotion of debunked claims that the election was stolen from former President