The legal battle between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News has entered a new stage after Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled that the case should go to trial.

The judge's decision came after weeks of Dominion revealing private messages between Fox News hosts and executives.

The Delaware judge said in his ruling that it was "CRYSTAL clear" that none of the allegations made by former President Donal Trump's allies on Fox in the weeks after the election was true.

The private messages revealed by Dominion as evidence showed that several Fox News stars and executives have publicly peddled Trump's narrative that the 2020 election was stolen. But privately, they ridiculed and criticized this false claim made by the former president.

One example is a private message from Tucker Carlson admitting that he hated Trump "passionately" and was excited not to talk about the former president after he lost the election. 

Another message revealed that Carlson told fellow Fox host Laura Ingraham that Sidney Powell, a lawyer representing Trump in election-related lawsuits, was "lying" and he had "caught her" doing so. 

However, despite knowing the "lies," they still spread misinformation on air. According to the Associated Press, Davis said it is now up to a jury "to decide whether Fox acted with actual malice in airing the claims."

If the jury does find this to be true, they would also be the ones to decide how much money Dominion would be getting in their lawsuit.

Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., are facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by the voting equipment firm, which claims that the conservative network defamed the company by repeatedly claiming, without evidence, election fraud claims involving their voting machines. 

"The statements at issue were dramatically different than the truth," the judge said as he denied Fox's effort to throw out the lawsuit and Dominion's appeal for a victory without a jury.

"In fact, although it cannot be attributed directly to Fox's statements, it is noteworthy that some Americans still believe the election was rigged," the judge added.

Davis also wrote in his 81-page ruling that Fox's failure to present extensive evidence to contradict the fraud claims "indicates that its reporting was not disinterested."

READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson Admits He Hates Donald Trump 'Passionately'

Jury Selection and Trial Date for Fox News Defamation Lawsuit Announced

Should Fox decide not to go for a last-minute financial settlement, the trial will begin around mid-April.

According to Politico, the judge has set jury selection on April 13, and the trial is set to begin on April 17 in the Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington.

Several Fox News executives and personalities such as Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity could be called on the stand.

Ex-Fox News Producer Says She Gave Misleading Testimony for Dominion Lawsuit to Keep Her Job

During an interview with NBC News on Thursday, former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg admitted that she gave misleading testimony in the Dominion defamation case because the right-wing network pressured her.

She said she was "bullied, intimidated and coerced" into protecting the network to keep her job.

"It felt awful. I mean it felt terrible because I knew that I was bullied, intimidated, and coerced into saying that just to keep my job and stay at the company," Grossberg said. 

She then noted that she did it after deciding to keep her job "so that I can keep paying my bills. It seemed like the safer decision for me at the time."

READ MORE: Fox News CEO Furious at Reporter for Fact-Checking Donald Trump's Election Lies

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Fired Fox News Producer Speaks Out Over Dominion Legal Battle - From TODAY