Fox News declines to settle multiple lawsuits with $60M payout
Courtesy of Wiki Commons
Fox News is being attacked from all sides as former employees file multiple lawsuits against the news giant. Multiple on-air personalities have cut their ties with the network – not all by choice – while behind the scenes employees have come out with claims of sexual and racial harassment.
Little did we know, Fox News had an opportunity to gain a reprieve from the storm – even if it was only temporary – by agreeing to settle. However, the price tag was too high at a whopping $60 million and the New York Times reports that the station declined to ante up.
The Times reports that Douglas H. Wigdor asked Fox for the lump sum in a confidential meeting in July so that all of the involved parties could be paid. Wigdor would’ve been the one to cut the checks at his own discretion to the more than 20 current and former employees he now represents. It’s considered rare for one attorney to take on so many clients all filing suits against a single party, as the Times notes.
After Fox News declined the offer, Wigdor continued the back and forth by referencing the payouts the company made to two of its more recognizable figures and – ironically – the most active pair in the discrimination scandal.
“Outside the context of the mediation, any amount under what Ailes and O’Reilly got in total would be unjust, said Wigdor.
It appears that Fox News legal headache is far from over. I guess that’s to be expected when the figurehead of an institution is found to be guilty of upholding a toxic culture for decades.