Judge tosses Newsmax suit against Fox over technicality, will allow refiling

A federal judge dismissed Newsmax’s antitrust lawsuit against right-leaning rival FNC over a technicality in the paperwork — but said it can be refiled with the issues corrected. 

Newsmax files antitrust suit against Fox, claiming ‘exclusionary’ tactics in carriage deals

Newsmax’s Sept. 3, 2025, filing listed five civil complaints against Fox, but four of those incorporate all preceding allegations, making those portions of the lawsuit an impermissible “shotgun pleading.”

This created a situation where each count carried “all that came before,” which ultimately meant the last count was a combination of all of the other complaints, which, according to prior case law, makes it ineligible to move forward in its current form.

One reason for this is that formatting lawsuits in this fashion can be seen as overcomplicating or convoluting the lawsuit, which could be against a Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requirement that such paperwork contain a “short and plain statement of the claim.” 

On a broader, general sense, such a format can also interfere with the defendant’s right to “fair and adequate” notification of the claims brought against them. 

Judge Aileen Cannon did note that Newsmax can refile the suit. 

Newsmax was quick to indicate that its legal team will be refiling the suit, presumably with the necessary corrections.

It was not immediately clear why Newsmax’s legal team failed to avoid this issue in its original filing, especially given that the rule is well-known in the legal community.

Advertisement

Cannon did caution that if the suit is refiled in an incorrect format again, it could affect Newsmax’s ability to refile the suit again.

In an email to NCS after news of the dismissal broke, FNC pointed out the suit was dismissed but did not comment on the potential refiling of the lawsuit other than to refer back to its original comment on the lawsuit: “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers.”