(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was sued for $1.3 billion by the voting-machine company he and others repeatedly accused of conspiring to switch votes to favor President Joe Biden. The complaint filed Monday by Dominion Voting Systems Inc. advances a defamation claim against Giuliani, who slammed the company’s conduct in public while declining to make fraud claims in court where he’d have to prove it. “Although he was unwilling to make false election fraud claims about Dominion and its voting machines in a court of law because he knew those allegations are false, he and his allies manufactured and disseminated the ‘Big Lie,’ which foreseeably went viral and deceived millions of people into believing that Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election,” the company said in the complaint in federal court in Washington. Dominion has previously sued Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, also seeking $1.3 billion. Read More: Powell Sued by Dominion for $1.3 Billion Over Fraud Claims The case is Dominion v. Giuliani, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 1:21-cv-00213.
The 107-page lawsuit, first reported by The New York Times, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and accuses Giuliani of having “manufactured and disseminated” false claims that Dominion voting machines threw out or changed votes for Trump. This “Big Lie” of a stolen election “deceived millions of people into believing Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election,” the lawsuit alleged. Giuliani “cashed in” on those defamatory claims by reportedly seeking $20,000 a day from the Trump campaign and hosting a podcast where he repeatedly peddled the lies, the lawsuit contended. “Even after the United States Capitol had been stormed by rioters who had been deceived by Giuliani and his allies, Giuliani shirked responsibility for the consequences of his words and repeated the Big Lie,” the lawsuit stated.
Legally these lawsuits never really go far except if they can bleed rudy in having to answer legal filings and prepare for the case over the next year. These lawsuits tend to get dismissed because Dominion suffered some attacks from clowns who believed the lie but other than that, the lawsuit is just a punitive revenge with no merit for the damages they seek.
I'm sure however in this case the reputation damage to the brand (future contracts globally) is immense and that it was done as a consultant for profit may be hard to shake. It will occupy him for a while, I am sure he will announce a counter suit. He will have to try and prove his accusations or settle. I don't see it being quashed myself, they need Rudy to be seen to lose.
We will see because if Dominion is still used and they defend their integrity, a court will not entertain the typical "he called me names and I want $$" lawsuit. If that was true we would have lawsuits all day and night. Dominion has the right to push the suit and that will make Rudy spend money to defend, file motions, answers to complaint, and maybe even get to depositions. I have been involved in smaller cases that took 2-3 years. The amount being asked for is so staggering, I would love to read the complaint filed as if it is just "he spread lies most people did not believe" it will get shuffled out of court.
This case and The Sidney Powell case are likely welcome occurrences for the defendants as they have been seeking a court in which to present any evidence that they may have.
I don't think that Rudy or Sidney Powell have very much money. It is doubtful that Dominion Systems will recover any money in this suit -- at best Dominion will be able to collect damages via future income that Rudy or Sidney earn. The real intent of this lawsuit is to stop this type of behavior from individuals and media outlets - where they push a regular collection of fabrications which undermines Dominion's business. We already saw how quickly media outlets retracted and scrubbed their stories when threatened with lawsuits from Dominion. This is a sign that Dominion has a strong case. FOX, NewsMax, etc. have a lot to lose (basically their entire business) with this type of suit. Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell don't have much to lose financially or from a business perspective.... but this suit will serve to shut them up..... and shut up any others who spread lies about Dominion.