Smartmatic and OANN settle 2020 election defamation lawsuit

• The suit accused OANN of "falsely" stating that Smartmatic "rigged" the 2020 presidential election for President Biden in key swing states, despite Los Angeles County being the only place in the U.S. where the company provided services that year.

Details: A federal court filing in D.C. shows the claims were dismissed without prejudice on Tuesday, with each party bearing its own attorneys' fees, costs and expenses.

• Erik Connolly, Smartmatic's lead attorney, said in a statement to media that the company had "resolved its litigation against OANN through a confidential settlement."
• OANN attorney Chip Babcock told CNN the case "has been resolved pursuant to a confidential agreement."

Flashback: The settlement comes one year after Fox News settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for over $787 million.

What we're watching: Smartmatic has lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax pending before the courts over reporting on its machines.

• Fox has filed a countersuit against the firm and the network citing First Amendment protections and public interest in the election claims by former President Trump and his allies following his 2020 election loss.

Go deeper: Fox's historic defamation settlement is just the beginning

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context.