By Mark Duell, Deputy Chief Reporter (Digital)
A judge in Florida has set a trial date in a year’s time for US President Donald Trump’s $10billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over a Panorama programme.
Court documents from the US District Court Southern District of Florida confirm judge Roy K Altman has ordered that the trial should begin on February 15 next year.
The two-week hearing is set to take place at the Wilkie D Ferguson Jr US Courthouse in Miami – despite the BBC having taken legal steps to try to dismiss the lawsuit.
Panorama faced criticism over a 2024 episode for appearing to give the impression Mr Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building in 2021.
A clip from his speech on January 6 was spliced to show him saying: ‘We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.’
The President is seeking up to $10billion (£7.5 billion) in damages in response to the editing of the speech, with his lawyers claiming it was ‘false and defamatory’.
Now, the court order made yesterday has confirmed: ‘This matter is set for trial during the Court’s two-week trial calendar beginning February 15, 2027. Counsel for all parties shall also appear at a calendar call at 1.45pm on February 9, 2027.
‘Unless instructed otherwise by subsequent order, the trial and all other proceedings in this case shall be conducted in Courtroom 12-4 at the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 400 N. Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33128.’
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on coal power at the White House yesterday
Court documents also list the plaintiff as President Donald J Trump, with the British Broadcasting Corporation et al as defendants.
The parties must select a mediator by March 3, 2026 and schedule a time, date and place for mediation.
The documents say: ‘If the parties cannot agree on a mediator, they shall notify the clerk in writing as soon as the impasse becomes clear, and the clerk shall designate a certified mediator on a blind rotation basis.’
The President’s lawyers have said ‘the BBC intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers around the world’.
The lawsuit is seeking damages on two counts: for an allegation of defamation, and for a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The complaint from Mr Trump’s legal team has alleged there is ‘substantial evidence’ that demonstrates the BBC and its leadership ‘bore President Trump ill will, wanted him to lose the 2024 presidential election, and were dishonest in their coverage of him’, before the publication of the Panorama documentary.
The BBC last month filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming the court lacks ‘personal jurisdiction’ over them, the venue is ‘improper’ and Mr Trump ‘failed to state a claim’.
The trial will take place at the Wilkie D Ferguson Jr US Courthouse in Miami (pictured in 2023)
The corporation also argued that it did not create, produce or broadcast the documentary in Florida and that Mr Trump’s claim that the documentary was available in the US on streaming service BritBox is not true.
It additionally claimed that the President failed to ‘plausibly allege’ the BBC published the documentary with ‘actual malice’, which public officials are required to show when filing suit for defamation in the US.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.’
Original source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15553975/Donald-Trump-BBC-defamation-lawsuit-trial-Florida-judge.html