A judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit brought by conservative cable channel Newsmax against Fox News, for now.
Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in an opinion filed on Friday that Newsmax’s suit, made earlier this week, was not filed properly, calling it a “shotgun pleading,” saying she has an “obligation to dismiss such pleadings.”
Cannon, who President Trump has repeatedly praised over her rulings on cases involving his administration, noted Newsmax can file another complaint against Fox if it wishes to do so before Sept. 11.
Newsmax sued Fox earlier this week, alleging it had illegally cornered the market on viewership among conservatives, saying the top-rated cable channel has “long engaged in an exclusionary scheme to increase and maintain its dominance in the market for U.S. right-leaning pay TV news, resulting in suppression of competition in that market that harms consumers, competition, and Newsmax.”
Fox News responded in a statement saying Newsmax “cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”
Newsmax experienced a brief bump in popularity after the 2020 election after it was championed by Trump as he floated unfounded allegations of voter fraud.
