Newsmax to refile lawsuit against Fox after judge faults 'shotgun' complaint

Newsmax

05/09/2025 18:45

By Mike Scarcella

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Newsmax NMAX.N on Friday said it will refile its lawsuit accusing larger rival Fox Corp FOXA.O of suppressing competition in the U.S. market for conservative-leaning pay TV, after a U.S. judge dismissed the case on technical grounds.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in South Florida dismissed the case in an order on Friday, calling Newsmax’s initial complaint filed this week against Fox Corp and affiliate Fox News Network a “shotgun” filing because of the way some of its allegations were organized.

Cannon's order set a Sept. 11 deadline for Newsmax to refile its lawsuit and said the company in presenting its individual claims “must not broadly incorporate the allegations of previous counts.”

Newsmax called the matter a technical issue and said it will refile its lawsuit.

A representative for Fox did not immediately respond on Friday to a request for comment.

In a prior statement, 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.”

The lawsuit on Sept. 3 accused Fox of violating antitrust law by coercing distributors to exclude competitors such as Newsmax or to restrict their reach.

Newsmax was founded in 1998 and launched Newsmax TV as a pay television channel in 2014. It debuted this year as a publicly traded company.

In the lawsuit, Newsmax said its programming offered an alternative to what it called Fox's "establishment platform."

The case is Newsmax Broadcasting LLC v. Fox Corp and Fox News Network, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida,

For Newsmax: Michael Guzman of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick; and Samuel Randall of Sperling Kenny Nachwalter

For Fox: No appearances yet

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)

 ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))