Mike Lindell gives a thumbs-up as he passes by a rally for supporters of former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee).
Attorneys for voting software company Smartmatic are looking to speed up a case against Minnesota-based pillow magnate Mike Lindell and his once-highly profitable bedding company, MyPillow, according to a motion filed in federal court on Thursday morning.
In the case, the underlying lawsuit was filed by Dominion Voting Systems, accusing Lindell and MyPillow of slander over false claims about the 2020 election. Lindell later sued both voting companies for alleged racketeering (RICO) violations, among other claims, and lost. Smartmatic, in turn, moved for sanctions, in the form of substantial legal fees, over what they termed the “frivolous lawsuit.”
Along the way, several additional claimants, counter-claimants, defendants, and plaintiffs have filed motions in no fewer than eight related cases. In other words, the procedural posture of the matter has become increasingly complex, complicated, and a bit unwieldy.
Now, Smartmatic aims to cut through some of the red tape.
In a five-page motion for status conference filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Smartmatic is asking for court-ordered talks to be held “within the next thirty days” in order to discuss the “sanctions previously ordered against” Lindell.
Those sanctions, however, are still a matter of some dispute.
Smartmatic originally moved for the penalty in February 2022.
While the court was amenable to the ask, the amount Lindell would be forced to pay the third-party defendant company was left unsettled.
In a May, 19 2022, ruling, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols 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). 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.
Essentially, the court rejected the idea that all of Lindell’s claims were frivolous — and therefore suggested Smartmatic might cabin their requests somewhat. The company followed up with a precise penalty amount in a supplemental motion filed roughly one week later.
“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 reads. “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.”
And then, years passed.
In April, Smartmatic got antsy about collecting their award after several attorneys representing Lindell and MyPillow jumped ship in the Dominion case over allegedly unpaid legal bills. Those purported debts ranged in the millions of dollars, Lindell’s and MyPillow’s former attorneys said.
Smartmatic then asked for, and received, a status conference to hash things out with Dominion and Lindell himself.
“On May 31, 2024, counsel for Smartmatic and Dominion attended a video status conference to discuss Smartmatic’s pending fee petition and Lindell’s financial circumstances,” the latest filing reads. “At the status conference, the Court requested Smartmatic’s position with respect to whether the sanctions ordered by the Court on May 31, 2022 should — when the appropriate amount of sanctions is determined by the Court — be (1) ordered to be paid into an escrow account held by the Court, or (2) ordered to be paid to Smartmatic, to be held in escrow pending final judgment and appeal.”
But, in May, Lindell’s side mysteriously did not show up.
A footnote in the Smartmatic motion explains: “Counsel for Mr. Lindell had notice of the conference, but was unable to appear.”
In June, Smartmatic moved to clarify how they wanted to be paid — asking for a court order directing Lindell to put the funds into an escrow account maintained by the voting company’s attorneys. Since then, however, the court has not acted on the fee dispute.
In sum, the company wants to make sure Lindell has the money to pay them what he owes — and posthaste.
“More than two years have now passed since this Court ruled that Smartmatic is owed ‘the fees and costs incurred in defending itself and moving for sanctions under Rule 11,”” the filing reads. “The longer this Court waits to rule on Smartmatic’s fee petition, the more prejudiced Smartmatic will become to collect the fees it is rightfully owed.”
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