Voting machine company Smartmatic has taken legal steps to address concerns over MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s ability to meet financial obligations arising from ongoing legal battles. On Tuesday, Smartmatic filed a 5-page motion requesting a status hearing, highlighting the urgency due to Lindell’s reported financial troubles.
This legal maneuver follows a tangled web of defamation claims involving U.S. Dominion, Inc., and Dominion Voting Systems, which have both previously sued Lindell and his company, My Pillow, over their public assertions regarding the 2020 presidential election. These assertions have been widely disputed and have led to multiple legal challenges against Lindell.
In the midst of these disputes, Lindell lodged a counterclaim against Smartmatic, alleging their involvement in a supposed conspiracy with Dominion. However, these allegations were dismissed by the court in 2022. At that time, the court did not specify the fines Lindell and his attorneys were to pay, leaving a crucial financial aspect of the case unresolved, reported CBS News.
The recent filing by Smartmatic brings this issue back to the forefront, as they expressed significant concern about Lindell’s financial health, which appears to be compromised. Lindell and My Pillow are reported to be “millions of dollars in arrears” to their former legal team. This debt raises doubts about their capacity to settle any forthcoming penalties or legal fees, particularly those Smartmatic might be awarded as the legal proceedings continue.
Smartmatic’s attorney, J. Erik Connolly, mentioned in the motion that given Lindell’s precarious financial position and the need to appoint new legal representation, there is growing unease about the potential recovery of costs incurred by Smartmatic in these legal proceedings. Thus, the call for a status conference is an effort to push the court to make a decisive move on the pending proceedings and to finalize the amount of fees owed to Smartmatic under the 2022 order.
Smartmatic initially sued Lindell following the path laid by Dominion, which had also taken legal action against him for defamation. The essence of Smartmatic’s lawsuit centers on allegations that Lindell exploited xenophobic and conspiracy theory-driven narratives for personal gain, particularly highlighting his efforts to boost pillow sales post-election under the guise of election fraud claims. According to Smartmatic, Lindell saw the aftermath of the 2020 election as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to enhance his fortune by peddling unfounded fears and theories.
As the case proceeds, the focus is now on ensuring that Lindell can be held financially accountable for any judgments awarded against him, with Smartmatic keen on a court intervention to safeguard their financial interests in the lawsuit. The requested status conference aims to address these pressing financial and legal concerns, ensuring that the court’s decisions are enforced against a backdrop of Lindell’s reported financial decline.
