Seems like the messiness was in one direction. If this true OAN had a motive to stop discovery.
Allegations are only allegations until proven - so the messiness you speak of does not mean anything on either direction. When you are defending yourself against these allegations, you can force the plaintiff to produce material thats pertinent. That material, coming from the plaintiff's side, can easily be damning and something they were trying to hide while lobbing false accusations.
This kind of thing happens all the time. Take an extreme example - Jeffrey Archer's libel case.
He not only lobbed accusations of libel but also won the lawsuit. But later it came out that he had fabricated false evidence and HE went to prison.
Allegations are only allegations until proven - so the messiness you speak of does not mean anything on either direction. When you are defending yourself against these allegations, you can force the plaintiff to produce material thats pertinent. That material, coming from the plaintiff's side, can easily be damning and something they were trying to hide while lobbing false accusations.
This kind of thing happens all the time. Take an extreme example - Jeffrey Archer's libel case.
He not only lobbed accusations of libel but also won the lawsuit. But later it came out that he had fabricated false evidence and HE went to prison.
Maybe we will learn more later, but the article does not support OP's claim.