Cable TV outlet Newsmax and the voting machine company Smartmatic settled a defamation lawsuit stemming from claims by Newsmax that the 2020 election was rigged, the cable operator announced Thursday.

The voting technology company Smartmatic and the conservative cable channel Newsmax have reached a settlement, averting a defamation trial that would have begun Monday over allegations that Newsmax personalities and guests spread lies about the 2020 election and Smartmatic’s role in it.

Voting machine company Smartmatic has settled its defamation case against conservative broadcaster Newsmax Media, a community spokesperson for Delaware Superior Court said on Thursday, without providing further details.

Smartmatic had sued Newsmax over the right-wing news outlet's airing of false claims that Smartmatic's voting machines had rigged the 2020 election for Joe Biden.

Newsmax Media reached a confidential settlement of a lawsuit by Smartmatic, the voting machine maker that had alleged it was defamed by the news outlet's false claims that its machines were rigged to help steal the 2020 U.

Jury selection in the case began on Thursday morning, and the trial had been expected to take up to four weeks.

The network and the voting machine equipment company reached a confidential settlement just as jury selection was scheduled to begin ahead of their expected trial.