One of the United States' most hotly anticipated jury trials had barely begun before it was over.
The Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News and Fox Corporation ended with a settlement, even as a jury was waiting to hear opening statements for the start of what was supposed to be a six-week trial.
The scene in the modern, utilitarian court building in Wilmington, Delaware was something of a slow-moving soap opera.
Hours of ambiguity ended in a simple statement from the judge: The parties had resolved their case.
Fox will pay $US787.5 million ($1.17 billion) to settle the defamation suit.
The last-minute deal means that Fox's biggest names including Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, as well as chairman Rupert Murdoch, avoid a public grilling.
Here's how the day unfolded.
Why did Dominion sue Fox in the first place?
Dominion sued Fox for its coverage of the 2020 US presidential election.
Multiple Fox hosts allowed guests to spread outlandish conspiracy theories that the company's voting machines helped the Democrats "steal" the election from then-president Donald Trump.
Some hosts themselves spruiked the conspiracies that Dominion had "deleted 2.7 million votes nationwide" or that associates of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez were behind the company.
Dominion originally tried to directly appeal to Fox to stop the claims being broadcast, but the conspiracy had taken root in the minds of many.
Dominion says its employees were harassed including "stalking and death threats".
Dominion initially launched defamation against two lawyers for Mr Trump who were the lead proponents of many of the conspiracy theories: Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell in January 2021.
In March of the same year, they also sued Fox directly.
The settlement means we won't see major Fox figures on the witness stand.
But, the discovery process in the lead-up to this trial has meant many private and embarrassing communications were made public.
It remains to be seen whether it's damaged the company in the eyes of its core audience.
What happened in court?
In the end, most of the action happened outside the courtroom.
This trial was highly anticipated, not just for the high-profile people involved, but for the fact it was going to test a landmark defamation principle called "actual malice".
This requires that a claim was published when it was known to be false, or with reckless disregard of whether it was true.
Actual malice is a very high bar to clear, and without a trial, there's no way to know if Dominion could have cleared it.
Either way, there was a crowd of journalists and court watchers left at a loose end in Wilmington this week.
The first day of the trial, long pencilled into the calendar, was delayed without explanation.
On the second day the court pushed ahead, finalising the jury — 12 jurors, and 12 alternates.
This process had begun the previous week, and proved too much for one alternate.
"I just can't do this," the man told the court.
He was quickly replaced.
The jury was then read instructions and served a court-provided lunch.
Opening statements were set to begin that afternoon, but the packed public gallery was instead left to look at the empty chairs of the judge and jury.
For several hours lawyers scurried in and outside the room.
At the end of the day, Judge Eric Davis excused the jury and announced that the parties had resolved the case.
'Lies have consequences'
Judge Davis had some parting words for the large legal teams, who'd been appearing before him for months in the lead-up to the trial.
"I've been on the bench since 2010 and I think this is the best lawyering I've had, ever," he said.
"I just want to say, I would be proud to be your judge in the future."
Fox's representatives hastily left court through the side exit with a few hapless journalists attempting to throw questions at them.
Dominion's team did give the waiting giant press pool some comments, though refused to take any questions.
Dominion senior counsel Justin Nelson was the first to step up, claiming the settlement as a victory for both the company he represented and the country.
"The truth matters. Lies have consequences," he told the crowd of local and international media.
"Today's settlement … represents vindication and accountability."
Much like Fox, Mr Nelson expressed a wish for the country to move forward.
"Misinformation may not go away, it may only get worse. This litigation cannot solve all problems - all of us remain ever vigilant to find common factual ground."
"Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and for democracy."
So what are the terms of the settlement?
We know the big number: Fox will pay $US787.5 million ($1.17 billion) to Dominion Voting Systems and avoid a jury trial.
Dominion had originally pursued $US1.6 billion ($2.37 billion) in damages.
In a statement, Fox said it acknowledged the court's ruling that certain claims about Dominion were false.
"This settlement reflects Fox's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards," it said.
"We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."
It's not clear whether Fox will issue an on-air apology as part of the statement.
Outside court, a reporter called a question to Dominion's CEO John Poulos: "Should Rupert Murdoch apologise to you personally?"
Mr Poulos did not respond.
What happens now?
Fox News is America's most-watched cable news network, according to Nielsen ratings.
Some of its most well-known anchors no longer need to prepare to be called as witnesses in this trial.
Neither does Fox Corporation chair, media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
But this is not the end of the line for Fox's legal battles.
Election technology company Smartmatic has launched a lawsuit similar to Dominion's, though it's asking for an even bigger headline figure: $US2.7 billion ($4.1 billion).
The company said Fox falsely claimed Smartmatic's technology was used in six battleground states in 2020, when it was really only involved in the count in Los Angeles county.
Smartmatic alleges a "disinformation campaign" from Fox News had a direct and harmful impact on its ability to conduct business now and into the future.
Fox has called Smartmatic's damages claims outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis.
It also said freedom of the press is foundational to democracy and must be protected.
There's also another lawsuit involving producer Abby Grossberg, who worked on Maria Bartiromo's show
She alleges that when she was deposed as part of Dominion's case, Fox News attorneys misleadingly coached, manipulated and coerced her to deliver "shaded and/or incomplete answers during her sworn testimony".
Fox News has said it will vigorously defend itself against Ms Grossberg's legal claims, which it called "unmeritorious" and "riddled with false allegations".
