Judge tosses Newsmax’s antitrust lawsuit against Fox News calling it 'shotgun pleading'
MIAMI, FLORIDA: A federal judge has dismissed Newsmax’s antitrust lawsuit against Fox News just two days after it was filed, calling the case a “shotgun pleading” that failed to meet basic legal standards.
The lawsuit accused Fox News of abusing its market dominance to block right-leaning competitors from gaining wider distribution. But the ruling by US District Judge Aileen Cannon forces Newsmax back to the drawing board.
Judge Aileen Cannon rules lawsuit 'impermissible'
In her order on Friday, September 5, Judge Aileen Cannon said Newsmax’s complaint repeated the same allegations across multiple legal claims, a style she deemed “impermissible” under court rules.
“The Court has an independent obligation to dismiss such pleadings and require repleader,” Cannon wrote. The Donald Trump-appointed judge, who in 2024 dismissed the classified documents case against the former president, gave Newsmax six days to refile a more coherent complaint.
In a text to CNN, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy downplayed the setback, calling it “a technical issue with the filing” and vowing that attorneys would resubmit the lawsuit.
Newsmax’s allegations against Fox News
The lawsuit, filed earlier this week, charged that Fox News leveraged its power to “coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”
Newsmax argued that this conduct has stifled fair competition in the conservative pay-TV market, despite the network’s claim of wide availability.
In its most recent quarterly report, Newsmax claimed it reaches 26 million quarterly viewers, 60 million US homes, and over 100 countries.
Despite that reach, Newsmax has struggled to build a consistent audience. In the second quarter of 2025, Fox News averaged 1.48 million total viewers at any given time, including 170,000 in the key advertising demographic of ages 25–54.
By contrast, Newsmax averaged just 141,000 total viewers and 14,000 in the demo, figures that declined year-over-year. Fox News, meanwhile, saw gains and remains the top-rated channel on all of cable, often outranking broadcast networks in some categories.
Fox News says Newsmax cannot sue its way out of competitive failures
Fox News mocked the case earlier in the week, framing it as an excuse for Newsmax’s struggles. “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines,” the network said in a statement on Wednesday.
The network declined further comment after Cannon’s ruling, instead pointing to the judge’s decision as validation of its stance.
