When Denver based Dominion Voting Systems settled its defamation lawsuit against Fox News for $787.5 million, the eye popping figure and last minute agreement garnered national headlines for days. One person had been following the case especially closely.
Eric Coomer, who lives in Colorado, is Dominion’s former director of product strategy and security. Coomer sued for defamation after he also found himself at the center of right-wing conspiracies that he personally rigged the presidential election for Joe Biden. He was forced into hiding after receiving death threats.
On Dec. 22, 2020 Coomer sued the Trump campaign, a number of campaign surrogates and pro-Trump media outlets in Colorado state court.
Coomer said the continued harassment and threats forced him to leave a 16-year career in an industry he loved. While Coomer did not sue Fox News personally, his attorneys noted that their client, as a former employee, will not receive any money from Dominion’s immense settlement with Fox News.
“I look forward to proving my own legal claims in the lawsuits I have personally filed against the originators and peddlers of ‘The Big Lie,’ and about me and my role at Dominion,” Coomer said in a statement.
Coomer may have filed his initial lawsuit before Dominion sued Fox News, but his legal proceedings have moved more slowly for a number of reasons.
Steve Skarnulis, an attorney representing Coomer said part of the delay is because Colorado has an anti-SLAPP law on the books. It aims to protect free speech and quickly get rid of meritless lawsuits filed purely to silence critics. It means defendants can file a motion to dismiss under that statute, and ruling on those takes time. He added that in the Dominion/Fox case case, which was filed in Delaware, there was an aggressive trial judge who wanted a fast timeline, as well as a discovery master.
Dominion also has several other lawsuits pending, including against some of the same defendants named in Coomer’s filings.
Still, Coomer has already settled with one party named in one of his defamation cases, the right wing media outlet Newsmax. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Newsmax issued an apology for its election stories and said there was no evidence that Dominion Voting Systems or Coomer, manipulated election results in 2020.
Here’s where Eric Coomer’s other cases stand according to his legal team at Cain & Skarnulis:
Defamation lawsuit against the Trump campaign and Trump’s allies. The suit names: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Sidney Powell, Sidney Powell, P.C., Rudolph Giuliani, Joseph Oltmann, FEC United, Shuffling Madness Media, Inc. d/b/a Conservative Daily, Jim Hoft, TGP Communications LLC d/b/a The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, Eric Metaxas, Chanel Rion, Herring Networks, Inc. d/b/a One America News Network. Newsmax was named in this case, but has since settled.
Filed on Dec. 22, 2020 in Denver District Court. A judge rejected motions to dismiss the lawsuit based on Colorado’s anti-SLAPP statute. The defendants have appealed that decision. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled.
Defamation lawsuit against Salem Media of Colorado Inc. and Randy Corporon
Filed on Nov. 13, 2021 in Denver District Court. A judge has not yet ruled on whether the case can move forward under the anti-SLAPP statute. No discovery can occur until there is a ruling.
Defamation lawsuit against Make Your Life Epic, LLC dba Thrivetime Show and Clayton Thomas Clark, Individually.
Filed on Dec. 22, 2021, in United States District Court for the District of Colorado. A Judge denied an anti-SLAPP motion and the defendants have appealed the ruling. A judge has not ruled whether the appeal will stay the proceedings in federal court.
Defamation lawsuit against Michael J. Lindell, Frankspeech LLC, and My Pillow, Inc.
Filed on May 5, 2022, in United States District Court for the District of Colorado. A federal Judge denied the motion to dismiss the case and it is in the discovery phase. Coomer’s attorney said Lindell has been deposed and a final pretrial hearing is scheduled for October 2023. Coomer’s attorneys are hoping to go to trial by the end of the year.
Defamation lawsuit against Patrick Byrne, Steven Lucescu, and The America Project, Inc.
Filed on June 24, 2022, in United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
A judge has not yet ruled on a motion to dismiss the case.
