April 16 (Reuters) - Smartmatic has settled a lawsuit

accusing right-wing television network One America News of

defamation by falsely claiming that the voting technology

company rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential election to help Joe

Biden beat Donald Trump.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, Smartmatic's

lawyer Erik Connolly said, but the company voluntarily dismissed

its lawsuit filed in 2021 against OAN in Washington, D.C.

Smartmatic had estimated that OAN's false claims wiped out

much of its business value, reducing it to less than $1 billion

from more than $3 billion.

Lawyers for OAN did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

The lawsuit was one of several accusing right-wing or

conservative-leaning media of spreading lies about the election

to drum up viewership, and boost advertising revenue.

Smartmatic still has lawsuits pending against Fox News

and Newsmax over their election coverage. It is seeking

$2.7 billion in the Fox lawsuit.

Last April, the voting technology company Dominion Voting

Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement with Fox, as opening

statements at a trial were about to begin.

OAN positioned itself to the right of Fox and Newsmax,

sometimes airing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election,

the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol, and vaccine safety.

It suffered financial blows in 2022 when Verizon and

AT&T's ( T ) DirecTV stopped carrying its programming.

Smartmatic, based in Boca Raton, Florida, accused OAN of

causing irreparable harm by "spreading disinformation" about the

election and its technology.

It said San Diego-based OAN eroded trust in the democratic

process and abandoned a pledge by Charles Herring, president of

its owner Herring Networks, to provide "reliable, credible,

fact-based news with substance."

In court papers, OAN said awarding Smartmatic more than $2

billion would silence "one more, albeit conservative, voice"

from what the U.S. Supreme Court has called the "marketplace of

ideas" protected by the First Amendment.

Trump, a Republican, hopes to retake the White House from

Biden, a Democrat, in a November rematch.

The case is Smartmatic USA Corp et al v Herring Networks

Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 21-02900.