DELAWARE — A Delaware judge ordered Fox Corp. to turn over hundreds of documents in a lawsuit brought by shareholders. Vice Chancellor Bonnie David issued the ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.

The order requires Fox Corp. to produce approximately 700 documents containing the phrase \"phone hacking.\" It also mandates the production of dozens of board meeting records from Fox Corp. and other organizations, along with years of Fox board meeting minutes. The court directed the company to provide emails from Jacques Nasser's Ford Motor Co. accounts and a list of all email addresses ever used by Jacques Nasser or Rupert Murdoch.

Shareholders' attorneys will be permitted to review sealed court documents from the Smartmatic case regarding Rupert Murdoch's deletion of text messages. Fox attorneys stated that Rupert Murdoch had been auto-deleting all of his text messages until about April 2022. This date occurred after Dominion Voting Systems filed its lawsuit against Fox. Fox attorneys accused executives at Dominion and Smartmatic of destroying evidence in their respective cases and sought sanctions against them.

The lawsuit was filed three years prior to the ruling against Fox Corp. Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and several board members and executives. The case was prompted by an $800 million settlement Fox paid to Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion Voting Systems accused Fox News of spreading conspiracy theories about fraud in the 2020 election. Smartmatic USA has filed a defamation case against Fox seeking $2.7 billion.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants fostered a business model that repeatedly exposed the company to scandal and litigation. It references an undisclosed settlement with the family of Seth Rich. Fox published and retracted a story on July 10, 2016, accusing Seth Rich of leaking documents to harm Hillary Clinton and implying Democratic National Committee involvement in his 2016 death. The lawsuit also references a phone hacking scandal at News Corp. that has cost the company approximately $1.5 billion.

Jacques Nasser served as an independent director on the boards of News Corp., 21st Century Fox, and Fox Corp. for more than two decades. He served as lead independent director of Fox Corp. until stepping down in 2023. Nasser earned six-figure annual compensation for his service on Murdoch corporate boards. Shareholders argue that if evidence shows Jacques Nasser was not independent, more than half of Fox's board members were not independent, which would likely send the case to trial.

Nasser served on the board of British Sky Broadcasting for a decade. Court documents state that he backed James Murdoch as CEO of British Sky Broadcasting. They also state that Nasser supported a stock buyback program that increased the clout of the Murdoch family.

Rupert Murdoch and Jacques Nasser are longtime members of the American Australian Association. During the Dominion lawsuit, lawyers accused Fox personalities including Pete Hegseth and executives of failing to preserve communications such as texts and emails.

The shareholder litigation is part of a broader effort to scrutinize corporate governance at Fox Corp. Plaintiffs argue that the board failed to exercise proper oversight, particularly in allowing the dissemination of false election fraud claims that led to costly legal settlements. The documents sought include internal board communications, policies on content moderation, and records related to executive compensation and director independence reviews.

Legal experts note that the scope of the document production reflects the court's recognition of the seriousness of the governance concerns raised. The materials will be reviewed under a protective order to ensure confidentiality. The case remains ongoing, with no trial date set. The ruling does not determine liability but allows shareholders to gather evidence to support their claims of mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty.

Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit, separate from the shareholder action, centers on broadcasts that alleged the company manipulated election results in 2020. Fox has not admitted wrongdoing in the Dominion settlement, though internal documents revealed during discovery showed network personalities doubted the truth of election fraud claims.

The phone hacking reference in the court order traces back to a scandal at News Corp.'s British tabloids, where private citizens, including crime victims and royals, were targeted. That scandal led to the closure of The News of the World and numerous legal actions. The inclusion of those records in the current order suggests shareholders are investigating whether past misconduct patterns influenced later corporate decisions.

Company representatives have not commented on the ruling. Fox Corp. is expected to comply with the document production deadline set by the court.