Mike Lindell dinged almost $60K in sanctions for ‘frivolous’ lawsuit claims in opposition to Smartmatic
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MyPillow CEO and fierce Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell has been walloped again with a hefty financial penalty, this time for “frivolous” claims he made in his lawsuit against voting software company Smartmatic.
Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered Lindell Monday to pay $56,369 to Smartmatic, which will be held in escrow in case of an appeal.
Lindell, like Trump, has long baselessly insisted the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost was fraudulent, and included fraudulent votes in voting machines.
An initial lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Dominion Voting Systems, accusing Lindell and his MyPillow company of slander over false election claims. Lindell later sued both Dominion and Smartmatic for alleged racketeering violations, among other claims. Lindell lost both cases, and Smartmatic moved for sanctions in the form of substantial legal fees.
Washington, D.C. District Judge Carl J. Nichols sided with Smartmatic in an earlier ruling more than two years ago, noting that some of Lindell’s claims fell on the “frivolous side of the line” and should pay a portion of Smarmatics legal fees. The sanction amount granted Monday, however, was a small fraction of the $546,000 Smartmatic sought, based on what the company called “reasonable legal fees.”
That’s not to say Lindell is getting off easily in his court battles, however.
A state judge in Minnesota last month ordered Lindell’s company, MyPillow Inc., to pay packing shipping and delivery company DHL $777,729 after failing to pay its business debts.
