A Boston legislation agency is suing Newsmax. Right here’s why.
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Todd & Weld says the community left greater than $400,000 in authorized payments unpaid.
The legislation agency Todd & Weld is suing the conservative media outlet Newsmax over alleged unpaid authorized payments totaling greater than $400,000.
In a criticism filed in Suffolk Superior Court docket on Sept. 18, Todd & Weld says Newsmax is in breach of contract and “concedes it owes however refuses to pay,” for its work representing the corporate over a number of libel lawsuits towards Newsmax over its protection of voter fraud.
Todd & Weld was the lead trial counsel for Newsmax in each the Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits, through which the voting system corporations alleged that statements made throughout Newsmax’s protection of the 2020 presidential election have been defamatory and false.
Smartmatic had sought over $1 billion in damages from Newsmax. The case was settled, with Newsmax paying $40 million in damages.
Newsmax additionally settled the Dominion lawsuit, which had sought $67 million in damages. By comparability, Fox Information settled with Dominion for $787.5 million in 2023 for a virtually equivalent declare.
Nevertheless, after settling the Dominion lawsuit, Todd & Weld’s criticism states that the Florida-based media firm refused to pay the ultimate invoices totaling about $426,500.
The litigation for the Dominion lawsuit closed round Aug. 15. Just a few days later, the criticism states that Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy mentioned the corporate wouldn’t pay any of the excellent payments or future invoices to Todd & Weld.
The criticism states that Newsmax doesn’t dispute the quantity it owes.
Nevertheless, Ruddy’s place, in accordance with the criticism, is “a pair hundred thousand greenback haircut is honest” as a result of the lawsuits have been “misplaced” regardless of being settled in courtroom.
The criticism says Ruddy has refused to talk by telephone, textual content, or in particular person to resolve the matter, so Todd & Weld had no selection however to file the lawsuit.
“Newsmax has paid over 90% of Todd & Weld’s billings to our firm,” Invoice Daddi, a spokesperson for Newsmax, mentioned in an announcement. “We’re, nonetheless, disputing a lot of companies carried out by their lawyer, Howard Cooper as a result of we consider he mishandled a lot of key issues involving our illustration.”
Cooper is a founding associate at Todd & Weld.
David Wealthy, a managing associate at Todd & Weld, responded that one other legislation agency—not Todd & Weld—dealt with the issues Newsmax claims have been “mishandled,” and that agency resolved these points in 2024.
“All work which Todd & Weld carried out on Newsmax’s behalf was distinctive as evidenced by the truth that Newsmax’s normal counsel and accounting division permitted paying every one in every of Todd & Weld’s invoices, together with the one which is at challenge within the pending litigation,” he mentioned.
Court docket paperwork didn’t specify when the courtroom will maintain the subsequent listening to.
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