Mike Lindell, CEO Of MyPillow Speaks At CPAC On The Final Day Of The Conservative Conference, February 24, 2024, in National Harbor, USA.(Photo by Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via AP)
On the same day that Smartmatic reached a settlement with One America News, attorneys for the voting technology company asked a judge in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Mike Lindell to hold a status conference, expressing concern that the MyPillow CEO will not be able to pay legal fees for filing a “frivolous lawsuit.”
The reason Smartmatic filed in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit is that Lindell tried and failed to sue both companies for RICO violations, among other claims. After the dismissal of all counterclaims, Smartmatic on May 27, 2022, made a high-dollar legal fees request against Lindell.
“Smartmatic seeks an award of at least $546,156 for reasonable legal fees for 1168.6 hours of work investigating, researching, and drafting several complex motions, plus $400 in costs. A fee award of $546,156 is a 17.1% reduction from the $658,646.73 in fees Smartmatic will have paid,” the filing said. “The award is reasonable considering: the volume, gravity, and frivolousness of Mr. Lindell’s allegations and claims; the ‘$2 billion’ in damages sought; the range and severity of Mr. Lindell and his counsel’s Rule 11 violations; and the amount of fees they caused Smartmatic to incur.”
The latest filing notes that U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, has not decided how much in fees Lindell will be on the hook for — despite having partially granted Smartmatic’s request for sanctions nearly two years ago.
When the judge ruled, he said, “The Court agrees with Smartmatic that Lindell has asserted at least some groundless claims.”
“In particular, the Court concludes that at the very least Lindell’s claim against Smartmatic under the Support or Advocacy Clause falls on the frivolous side of the line (other claims do too),” Nichols continued. “As a result, the Court orders Lindell and his previous counsel to pay some of the fees and costs Smartmatic has incurred defending itself and moving for sanctions under Rule 11.”
More Law&Crime coverage: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s lawyers are abandoning him in Dominion lawsuit due to unpaid legal bills
Smartmatic is asking the judge “determine the amount of fees owed” because the company fears Lindell and MyPillow will not be able to pay. The lawyers pointed out that Lindell lost his attorneys in the Dominion case last October due to mounting unpaid legal bills.
When Lindell’s lawyers moved to withdraw, they represented that defendants MyPillow and Lindell “are millions of dollars in arrears” to their firm. At the time, the attorneys told the judge that forcing them to continuing representing Lindell would pose a “serious financial risk” to and “threaten the very existence of the firm.”
In its Tuesday request, Smartmatic highlighted the money issues Lindell’s former lawyers disclosed, calling on Nichols to act or else potentially leave the company “without a remedy” to collect legal fees.
“Smartmatic’s sole remaining involvement in this action is the pending decision on its fee petition. This has been pending for twenty-two months. Given Lindell and MyPillow’s recent representations about their financial condition, including the need to hire new counsel, Smartmatic is concerned about its ability to collect ‘the fees and costs incurred in defending itself and moving for sanctions under Rule 11,”” the filing said. “According to the motion to withdraw, Lindell and MyPillow are ‘millions of dollars in arrears’ to their own former counsel; thus, Smartmatic may, for all practical purposes, be left without a remedy if this Court does not act on the pending proceedings and determine the amount of fees owed to Smartmatic under its May 19, 2022 Order.”
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