A judge has thrown out MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s latest appeal to get a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him connected to claims about fraud in the 2020 election dismissed.
In a court filing Tuesday, District Judge Carl Nichols paved the way for further litigation in a defamation lawsuit filed by voting technology company Dominion Voting Systems over statements Lindell made surrounding the 2020 election.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1646317600120,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1646317600120,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_46258921", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"965647"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-502c-dda1-a57f-db2cf3940000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedNichols wrote that the questions raised by Lindell’s defense team were “far from exceptional” and that MyPillow had not “made a serious argument that a court is required, at the motion to dismiss stage in a defamation case, to consider and weigh factual materials outside the pleadings and relied on by the defendant.”
Dominion sued Lindell and MyPillow in February 2021, accusing them of spreading false information that the company rigged the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden by manipulating votes.
The company is seeking $1.3 billion, arguing that Dominion’s reputation was “irreparably damaged” by the statements.
“Despite repeated warnings and efforts to share the facts with him, Mr. Lindell has continued to maliciously spread false claims about Dominion, each time giving empty assurances that he would come forward with overwhelming proof,” Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement last February. “Mr. Lindell’s lies have undermined trust in American democracy and tarnished the hard work of local election officials.”
Dominion has long denied tampering with the results of the election, pursuing litigation against those who claimed otherwise.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Lindell is involved in several lawsuits. Last year, the CEO filed a lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, claiming that the companies are “weaponizing the judicial system and the litigation process to silence dissent, unpopular beliefs, or facts inconveniently out-of-line with mainstream groupthink.”
In January, Lindell also filed a lawsuit against the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to block the committee from receiving his phone records.
