Top Fox legal executive departs after $787 million Dominion settlement

Fox Corp. on Friday said that its longtime chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh would depart, months after Fox News lost a historic defamation suit to Dominion Voting Systems.

Why it matters: Reports suggest that Dinh pushed Fox Corp. to pursue a trial instead of settling sooner, a decision that ultimately cost the company $787 million in settlement claims and tens of millions more in legal costs.

Details: In a statement, Fox Corp. said Dinh will step down from his position and become a special advisor to the company effective Dec. 31.

• Dinh said: "I look forward to continuing with FOX as Special Advisor, and to returning to my roots of working on multiple ventures and with many clients across a variety of disciplines."
• Fox Corp. executive chair and chief executive Lachlan Murdoch said the company appreciated Dinh's service to the company and that the Fox "will benefit from his counsel" as a special advisor.

Between the lines: Fox Corp. has let go of a few key personnel in the months following the Dominion settlement, including senior vice president Raj Shah and Fox News' star primetime anchor Tucker Carlson.

The big picture: Dinh joined Fox Corp. in 2018, and has led all legal and compliance matters, as well as regulatory and government affairs.

• During his time there, Fox Corp. sold its entertainment assets to Disney and acquired a successful streaming asset called Tubi for $440 million. It also launched ventures in new areas, such as streaming, web3 and sports betting, to varying degrees of success.

What to watch: Fox News faces several other defamation lawsuits related to airing 2020 election lies — most notably, a $2.7 billion case brought by election technology company Smartmatic.