Fox News pulled its lawsuit Tuesday that sought a gag order against Tucker Carlson producer Abby Grossberg, a move they made less than 24 hours after she made headlines for her suit against the company.
In her suit, Grossberg claimed Fox forced her to provide a misleading testimony in their defamation legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems. She also mentions that she witness several instances of sexist and antisemitic behavior from her Fox News co-workers.
“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to CPLR 3217(a)(1), Plaintiff Fox News Network, LLC, hereby discontinues this proceeding, without prejudice, and without costs to any party,” reads Fox News’ notice.
In a statement to TheWrap, the organization said: “Fox News Media engaged an independent outside counsel to immediately investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which were made following a critical performance review. Her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless and we will vigorously defend Fox against all of her legal claims which have no merit.”
Fox News declined to comment further. But an individual with knowledge of the matter tells TheWrap that the proceeding was discontinued because “the action is now moot.” That’s because the material the network considered privileged and sought to enjoin was included in Grossberg’s lawsuit filings.
On Tuesday, Grossberg’s attorney’s praised the company’s move to drop their case.
“While our office was fully prepared and ready to argue to the New York Supreme Court why Fox News’s baseless and retaliatory lawsuit seeking to restrain Ms. Grossberg from speaking out about her abhorrent experiences at the Network was frivolous, Fox News wisely decided to give up on its clearly meritless claims against Ms. Grossberg,” attorneys Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman wrote in a statement.
Grossberg is a senior producer who was responsible for booking arrangements for the Tucker Carlson show. In her legal document she stated that she was placed on administrative leave hours after filing her lawsuits.
“We remain ready and eager to vindicate Fox News’s blatant and repeated violation of Ms. Grossberg’s rights, including her right to not be baselessly sued in retaliation for complaining about unlawful conduct, in the Southern District of New York and in Delaware Superior Court,” Grossberg’s attorneys continued.
