News anchors work at Newsmax’s booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
A federal judge in Florida dismissed Newsmax‘s antitrust lawsuit against Fox News just a day after it was filed — but said she will allow the right-leaning media outlet to submit an amended civil complaint.
Judge Aileen Cannon, in an order Thursday, called Newsmax’s suit an impermissible “shotgun complaint” because four of its five counts incorporated all of the allegations made in the first count.
“The amended complaint must not contain any successive counts that incorporate all prior allegations,” Cannon wrote in the order.
“Failure to comply with this Order may result in dismissal of the case without further notice,” she wrote in the order, which gives Newsmax until next Thursday to file the revised suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Newsmax, in a statement to CNBC, said, “We understand this is just a technical matter and our law firm is refiling.”
The company’s suit accused Fox News of acting as a monopoly and suppressing its competitors in conservative media through a variety of means, including intimidation tactics.
Newsmax sought a permanent injunction barring Fox’s conduct, as well as damages that its CEO, Chris Ruddy, told CNBC would be “significant and serious.”
When the suit was filed on Wednesday, Fox said, “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”
Aileen M. Cannon, United States District Judge, Southern District of Florida
Courtesy: US Courts
Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump, drew public attention after she was assigned to handle the criminal case against Trump for retaining classified government documents after his first term in the White House ended in January 2021.
Cannon dismissed that case in July 2024, ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith as prosecutor violated the U.S. Constitution.
Smith quickly appealed that ruling.
The Department of Justice later dropped that case and another unrelated criminal case against Trump when he was elected to a second term in November, because of a DOJ policy barring prosecution of sitting presidents.
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