Fox News has agreed to pay $12 million to settle the claims made by Abby Grossberg, a former producer who alleged facing a discriminatory workplace and being coerced into providing false or misleading testimony in Dominion Inc.’s defamation lawsuit.
Grossberg’s lawyer says the settlement will resolve all litigation brought by Grossberg against Fox Corp., Fox News Network, and her former colleagues, including former Fox host Tucker Carlson.
The details of the settlement were disclosed through the filing of a “Notice of Voluntary Dismissal” in the lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg earlier this year in Manhattan federal court. The judge accepted the filing and officially closed the case.
While the notice itself did not provide specific details about the settlement terms, Abby Grossberg’s attorney, Parisis G. Filippatos, confirmed in an interview that his client will receive $12 million as part of the settlement.
Fox News issued a statement expressing their satisfaction with resolving the matter, stating, “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation.”
In her statement, Abby Grossberg affirmed her continued belief in the claims she made in both her Manhattan and Delaware State Superior Court lawsuits. However, she expressed satisfaction that Fox News has taken her and her legal claims seriously.
Grossberg expressed hope that the settlement signifies a positive step by the network in improving its treatment of women and minorities in the workplace, based on the discussions she had with Fox News during the resolution process.
Read Abby Grossberg’s personal statement regarding today’s settlement of 12 Million Dollars. It has been our honor to represent you, Abby. #AbbyGrossberg #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/CiD9ru2Fw6
— Filippatos PLLC (@FilippatosPLLC) June 30, 2023
According to the Manhattan lawsuit, Abby Grossberg alleged that Fox’s legal team engaged in coercion, intimidation, and misinformation tactics during the preparation of her testimony in the legal dispute between the network and Dominion, an elections technology company.
In the lawsuit, Abby Grossberg asserted that she had received substandard legal representation compared to her male counterparts at Fox News, resulting in irreparable damage to her reputation and emotional well-being. She claimed to have experienced significant harm due to the disparity in the quality of legal support provided to her.
Shortly before the scheduled start of the trial, Fox reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, agreeing to pay over $787 million to resolve the lawsuit related to the network’s dissemination of false claims following the 2020 presidential election. The settlement was reached just before Tucker Carlson’s anticipated testimony.
Less than a week following the settlement, on April 24, Tucker Carlson, the network’s prominent figure, was terminated. Grossberg, who served as the “Head of Booking” for Carlson from September to March, claimed in her federal lawsuit that Carlson’s show fostered a hostile work environment. She also alleged that she was coerced into providing false testimony during a pretrial deposition in the Dominion case.
