The beginning of the much-anticipated defamation case between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News has been delayed by one day, until Tuesday, to allow both parties to hold conversations about the possibility of a settlement, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. …

But two people familiar with the case said the two sides are scheduled to meet Monday to determine if a last-minute deal to avoid trial could be brokered. One of the people said the judge had asked the parties to make a final effort to settle the issue before proceeding with a trial. …

Late settlement talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which, like Fox News, is controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s family. Fox and Dominion engaged in a round of mediation in December 2022 but were unable to reach a settlement agreement at that time, the court has previously said.

[I’ve been predicting a settlement immediately before trial for a while now. Lawsuits like these are often games of chicken, and sometimes it takes seating a jury to get both sides to seriously consider the collision. It may not work, but I’d bet the judge wants to push both sides into swerving — and the attorneys will likely prefer the certainty of a settlement over the uncertainty of juries and appellate rulings in a case like this. — Ed]