Two days after it was filed, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News, accusing rival Newsmax of using its market forces to curb competition.
President Trump’s appointee Cannon dismissed the complaint as a “shotgun plea,” finding most of the causes of actions overlap unnecessary. She gave Newsmax until September 11th to file an amended complaint.
Newsmax claims Fox News used its leverage to force distributors to carry their rivals’ right-leaning news channels. The lawsuit also alleges that Fox News pressured guests to not appear on Newsmax and hired private investigators to target Newsmax executives to drag the channel.
In response to the complaint, Fox News said, “Newsmax can’t escape the failure of its own competition in the market just because it can’t attract audiences.”
The complaint allegedly violated Sherman Act, the Florida Antimonopoly Act, and Florida’s deceptive and unfair trade practices laws. The national antitrust claims are stated in a rough manner, claiming that Fox’s actions are violating “the same reasons as violating federal antitrust laws.”
By incorporating the count-1 claim, Cannon found that 2-5 counts violated federal rules against the shotgun suit.
“The court has an independent obligation to dismiss such a complaint and to request a replyer,” the judge wrote.
Newsmax has indicated that it will correct the complaint.
“This is just a technical issue and we understand that our law firm is re-emerging,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
Working in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, Cannon is best known for overseeing criminal cases against Trump to maintain confidential documents. She dismissed the case last year and found the appointment of special advisor Jack Smith to be illegal.
She had previously intervened to stop the Department of Justice from accessing materials revealed in a Mar-a-Lago search. That decision was overturned by the 11th Circuit. According to ABC News, Cannon was considered the attorney general last fall.
