Marshall Cohen for CNN:

A major defamation case against Newsmax will proceed to trial later this month, a judge ruled Thursday, dealing a blow to the right-wing network and setting the stage for the 2020 election to be relitigated during the final stretch of the 2024 race.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis rejected Newsmax’s attempt to shut down the case, which was brought by the voting technology company Smartmatic, without even holding a trial. Instead, Davis concluded that key questions about Newsmax’s actions in 2020 would be weighed by a jury, barring a pre-trial settlement.

“Newsmax reported on allegations regarding the Election and Smartmatic, but there remains a dispute as to whether Newsmax recklessly disregarded the truth,” Davis wrote. “The jury must determine if Newsmax was doing what media organizations typically do — inform the public of newsworthy events—or did Newsmax purposely avoid the truth and defame Smartmatic.