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 The sexual harassment claims against him could be complicated
by a 19th-century New York state law that bars people with
stakes in lawsuits from testifying about private conversations
with parties who have died.
Ailes, 77, died from bleeding on the brain caused by a fall last
week at his home in Florida, according to the Palm Beach County
Medical Examiner.
His departure from Fox News in July amid a sexual harassment
scandal abruptly ended his 20-year reign at the cable channel
that helped reshape American politics with conservative-leaning
hosts such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.
Former anchor Andrea Tantaros and contributor Julie Roginsky
have claimed in lawsuits that Ailes harassed them and that Fox
News retaliated against them for rebuffing him. The Tantaros
case is in arbitration in New York and the Roginsky case is
pending in Manhattan State Supreme Court.
The law, commonly known as the "dead man’s statute," is rarely
invoked outside of cases involving disputed wills and estates,
lawyers and law professors said. But if the law is raised by Fox
or Ailes’ estate, it could set back Tantaros and Roginsky, whose
key claims are based on private conversations with Ailes.
"If no one else was there, you probably have to build your proof
another way," said Stephen Gillers, a professor at NYU School of
Law. The law would only apply to lawsuits in which Ailes is
named as a defendant.
SHOCK AND GRIEF
Fox News, which Ailes started in 1996 with the backing of media
mogul Rupert Murdoch, raised the temperature of on-air debate on
U.S. television, generally taking a hardline conservative view.
It has had a mixed relationship with U.S. President Donald
Trump, a longtime friend of Ailes, but was instrumental in his
election victory in November.
Ailes received a severance package of about $40 million when he
left Fox News, owned by Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc,
according to a source familiar with the situation. He went on to
serve as an informal adviser to Murdoch.
"Everybody at Fox News is shocked and grieved by the death of
Roger Ailes," Murdoch said in a statement.
"Roger and I shared a big idea which he executed in a way no one
else could have," he added. "Roger was a patriot, who never
ceased fighting for his beliefs."
Hannity paid tribute on his show to his former boss.
“Today America lost one of its great patriotic warriors," he
said in a statement read on the channel. "For decades, RA (Roger
Ailes) has impacted American politics and media. He has
dramatically and forever changed the political and the media
landscape single-handedly for the better."
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 Democrats also weighed in on someone they often saw as a foe.
"I knew Ailes. Competed against him in campaigns," said David
Axelrod, ex-adviser to former President Barack Obama, on
Twitter. "Railed against him many times. But appreciated our
frank, back-channel conversations."
SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWSUITS
Fox has been roiled by sexual harassment claims for more than a
year, which prompted Ailes' exit last summer. In April O'Reilly, the
channel's most-watched host, was also forced out after the New York
Times reported that Fox and O'Reilly had paid five women a total of
$13 million to settle harassment claims.
Bill Shine, co-president of Fox News who had been at the channel
since its inception, also left this month. Despite the high-profile
departures, Fox News ratings have remained strong.
Ailes' chief lawyer Susan Estrich did not respond to a request for
comment about the state of the lawsuits.
Before his death, Ailes took steps to limit any financial loss from
lawsuits. He bought an oceanfront home in Palm Beach for $36 million
shortly after leaving Fox News and declared himself a state
resident, according to public records.
The moves allowed Ailes to take advantage of
Florida "homestead" laws that protect residential property from
claims by creditors, according to Lee-Ford Tritt, a professor of
estates and trusts at the University of Florida.
"Florida has amazing creditor protection," Tritt said. It's why
people like O.J. Simpson bought a house there."
The legal protections will likely pass onto his wife, who would
typically inherit control of the house under Florida law barring a
prenuptial agreement to the contrary, Tritt said.
Ailes also owned homes in Cresskill, New Jersey, and Garrison, New
York. The Cresskill home was up for sale at the time of his death,
according to public records.
Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's office said Ailes died of
complications from a subdural hematoma - a pool of blood on the
brain - caused by a fall at home that injured his head. A Palm Beach
police report showed Ailes fell on May 10.
The medical examiner's report said Ailes' hemophilia, which prevents
blood clotting, contributed to his death, which it said was
accidental with no evidence of foul play.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen, Anna Driver, Jill Serjeant,
Anthony Lin and Joseph Ax, writing by Bill Rigby; editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe and David Gregorio)
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