'With prejudice': MyPillow CEO's lawsuit against voting machine company is finally put to bed after purchase by former election official

The voting hardware and bundle institution formerly known arsenic Dominion Voting Systems is putting an extremity to a yearslong ineligible conflict with erstwhile Minnesota pillow magnate Mike Lindell.

On Monday, successful a four-page motion filed successful national tribunal successful Washington, D.C., Liberty Vote Holdings, Inc. and My Pillow, Inc. — on with the extant Dominion subsidiary and Lindell himself — agreed "to the dismissal of each claims and causes of enactment asserted…with prejudice," meaning the aforesaid allegations cannot beryllium filed again by either enactment against 1 different successful a civilian lawsuit.

"Each enactment shall carnivore its ain attorneys' fees, expenses, and costs," the terse and pro forma stipulation reads — a speedy extremity to the agelong and, for Lindell astatine least, financially burdensome litigation.

The underlying ineligible substance began successful February 2021 erstwhile the voting institution sued MyPillow and Lindell for $1.3 cardinal aft the stalwart Donald Trump state repeatedly accused Dominion and Smartmatic, different voting company, of rigging the 2020 statesmanlike election.

"He is good alert of the autarkic audits and insubstantial ballot recounts conclusively disproving the Big Lie," the archetypal Dominion ailment reads. "But Lindell—a talented salesman and erstwhile nonrecreational paper counter—sells the prevarication to this time due to the fact that the prevarication sells pillows."

Lindell, successful turn, sued some voting companies — adding Smartmatic arsenic a third-party suspect to the lawsuit — for myriad counterclaims and lost. Smartmatic aboriginal moved for sanctions and won in 2022.

But the litigation has dragged on.

While Smartmatic achieved a comparatively speedy triumph for being dragged into a suit it wanted nary portion of, the institution had to prod the tribunal successful October 2024 for Lindell to wage retired the grant and yet determine connected the dollar magnitude helium owed. Even then, Smartmatic said Lindell simply had not paid the $56,369 successful sanctions owed implicit his frivolous claims — and pushed for contempt successful March 2025.

Meanwhile, Lindell fought a bid of seemingly uphill battles successful the archetypal Dominion defamation suit — connected assorted fronts.

In October 2023, Lindell's attorneys moved to retreat from the lawsuit due to the fact that the "Defendants are millions of dollars successful arrears." The tribunal allowed the lawyers to extremity their practice successful August 2024.

In June 2024, Lindell was barred from enforcing long-sought subpoenas against 2 government-affiliated individuals helium hoped to usage arsenic the ground of his defence against defamation claims.

And then, for a while, the 2 main competing parties — Dominion and Lindell/MyPillow — engaged successful reasonably modular ineligible wrangling aft Lindell secured caller attorneys, conducting ongoing find negotiations, conferences, and hearings. In effect, the docket slowed down arsenic the parties worked done what the eventual motions for summary judgement oregon assemblage proceedings mightiness beryllium based on.

But past the litigation took an unexpected turn.

In October 2025, erstwhile Republican predetermination authoritative Scott Leiendecker bought Dominion and rebranded it arsenic Liberty Vote.

The caller proprietor described the acquisition arsenic "a bold and historical determination to alteration and amended predetermination integrity successful America" but fundamentally said the institution would beryllium going guardant arsenic accustomed — with nary changes successful staff, contracts, oregon products planned successful the contiguous future.

Now, 1 alteration is readily apparent: The institution volition nary longer prosecute a cent from Lindell oregon his once-profitable bedding company.

All the while, however, the docket has remained progressive successful Smartmatic's efforts to person Lindell wage the wealth helium owes it.

In April of this year, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, yet answered Smartmatic's telephone for sanctions. In an order, the tribunal tacked connected an further $500 for each time of continued "noncompliance" and chastised the pillow salesman astatine length.

According to the judge, Lindell had immoderate $14.8 cardinal successful assets to wage arsenic ordered but claimed to person a "negative $18.7 million" nett worth. He besides allegedly spent $187,037.87 successful Minnesota gubernatorial run funds to bargain copies of his ain book, "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO," to springiness away.

"That Lindell prioritized spending successful different ineligible proceedings implicit this case—despite those proceedings taking spot aft the Court ordered him to wage Smartmatic for filing frivolous counterclaims against it—does not excuse his nonaccomplishment to wage here," Nichols said.

The day aft Nichols' bid was unsealed, Smartmatic alerted the justice that Lindell had not made "any" outgo astatine each — starting the timepiece connected the $500-per-day contempt penalties.

Earlier this month, Smartmatic complained to the tribunal yet again. According to the company, Lindell has racked up implicit $36,000 successful contempt fines since April, bringing the caller expansive full to much than $92,000. The announcement insisted connected "civil contempt penalties to a greater amount" to effort to enactment a halt to the "continued violations."

Smartmatic is not a enactment to the stipulated dismissal filed this week.