NEW YORK (AP) — A judge threw out a New York lawsuit Friday against Fox News by former host Andrea Tantaros, citing her “vague, speculative and conclusory allegations.”
The lawsuit U.S. District Judge George Daniels dismissed had alleged Fox tried to torment Tantaros after she complained about sexual harassment.
The lawsuit claimed Tantaros was viewed as a threat by Fox executives after she declined an offer of more than $1 million to remain silent. The suit said Tantaros suspected her emails and telephone conversations were being monitored after she revealed personal information in calls or emails that were then referenced by others in cruel social media posts.
She sought unspecified damages.
Fox News Channel had urged the lawsuit be rejected, saying the claims were a paranoid fantasy or a deliberate hoax.
In his written ruling, Daniels recounted her claims at length but repeatedly cited instances in which her accusations lacked the kind of specifics and proof necessary to put them before a jury.
For example, he rejected a wiretap claim, saying she had “failed to allege a basic element of this cause of action: an actual interception of her wire, oral, or electronic communications.”
In another instance, he struck down a malware claim, citing her “vague, speculative, and conclusory allegations.”
In an email response to a request for comment, Tantaros said, “Not one part of this lawsuit was based on speculation and conjecture — it was based on first hand testimony, cold, hard facts, and independently verified computer forensics.
“The Judge made the wrong call, and I absolutely plan on appealing,” she wrote. “Fox News will be held accountable, just as they have for their sickening past, rife with sexual harassment, discrimination and destroying the careers of dozens of women for having the courage to come forward with the truth.”
Asked for comment, a Fox News spokesman said the decision speaks for itself.
In August 2016, Tantaros sued the network, its ousted chairman and other top executives in a separate lawsuit, saying they retaliated after she detailed unwanted sexual advances made by her onetime boss Roger Ailes. A state judge ruled those claims were subject to closed-door arbitration.
Tantaros worked as a host and political analyst for Fox News from 2011 to 2016.
Ailes died last year.
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By LARRY NEUMEISTER , Associated Press
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