Mike Lindell appears at his booth on Day 3 of CPAC 2026, in Grapevine, Texas, on March 27, 2026 (Photo by Laura Brett/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images).
The voting hardware and software company formerly known as Dominion Voting Systems is putting an end to a yearslong legal battle with erstwhile Minnesota pillow magnate Mike Lindell.
On Monday, in a four-page motion filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., Liberty Vote Holdings, Inc. and My Pillow, Inc. — along with the extant Dominion subsidiary and Lindell himself — agreed "to the dismissal of all claims and causes of action asserted…with prejudice," meaning the same allegations cannot be filed again by either party against one another in a civil lawsuit.
"Each party shall bear its own attorneys' fees, expenses, and costs," the terse and pro forma stipulation reads — a quick end to the long and, for Lindell at least, financially burdensome litigation.
The underlying legal matter began in February 2021 when the voting company sued MyPillow and Lindell for $1.3 billion after the stalwart Donald Trump ally repeatedly accused Dominion and Smartmatic, another voting company, of rigging the 2020 presidential election.
"He is well aware of the independent audits and paper ballot recounts conclusively disproving the Big Lie," the original Dominion complaint reads. "But Lindell—a talented salesman and former professional card counter—sells the lie to this day because the lie sells pillows."
Lindell, in turn, sued both voting companies — adding Smartmatic as a third-party defendant to the case — for myriad counterclaims and lost. Smartmatic later moved for sanctions and won in 2022.
But the litigation has dragged on.
While Smartmatic achieved a relatively quick victory for being dragged into a lawsuit it wanted no part of, the company had to prod the court in October 2024 for Lindell to pay out the award and finally decide on the dollar amount he owed. Even then, Smartmatic said Lindell simply had not paid the $56,369 in sanctions due over his frivolous claims — and pushed for contempt in March 2025.
Meanwhile, Lindell fought a series of seemingly uphill battles in the original Dominion defamation lawsuit — on various fronts.
In October 2023, Lindell's attorneys moved to withdraw from the case because the "Defendants are millions of dollars in arrears." The court allowed the lawyers to end their representation in August 2024.
In June 2024, Lindell was barred from enforcing long-sought subpoenas against two government-affiliated individuals he hoped to use as the basis of his defense against defamation claims.
And then, for a while, the two main competing parties — Dominion and Lindell/MyPillow — engaged in fairly standard legal wrangling after Lindell secured new attorneys, conducting ongoing discovery negotiations, conferences, and hearings. In effect, the docket slowed down as the parties worked through what the ultimate motions for summary judgment or jury trial might be based on.
But then the litigation took an unexpected turn.
In October 2025, former Republican election official Scott Leiendecker bought Dominion and rebranded it as Liberty Vote.
The new owner described the acquisition as "a bold and historic move to transform and improve election integrity in America" but essentially said the company would be going forward as usual — with no changes in staff, contracts, or products planned in the immediate future.
Now, one change is readily apparent: The company will no longer pursue a cent from Lindell or his once-profitable bedding company.
All the while, however, the docket has remained active in Smartmatic's efforts to have Lindell pay the money he owes it.
In April of this year, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, finally answered Smartmatic's call for sanctions. In an order, the court tacked on an additional $500 for each day of continued "noncompliance" and chastised the pillow salesman at length.
According to the judge, Lindell had some $14.8 million in assets to pay as ordered but claimed to have a "negative $18.7 million" net worth. He also allegedly spent $187,037.87 in Minnesota gubernatorial campaign funds to buy copies of his own book, "What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO," to give away.
"That Lindell prioritized spending in other legal proceedings over this case—despite those proceedings taking place after the Court ordered him to pay Smartmatic for filing frivolous counterclaims against it—does not excuse his failure to pay here," Nichols said.
The day after Nichols' order was unsealed, Smartmatic alerted the judge that Lindell had not made "any" payment at all — starting the clock on the $500-per-day contempt penalties.
Earlier this month, Smartmatic complained to the court yet again. According to the company, Lindell has racked up over $36,000 in contempt fines since April, bringing the new grand total to more than $92,000. The notice insisted on "civil contempt penalties to a greater amount" to try to put a stop to the "continued violations."
Smartmatic is not a party to the stipulated dismissal filed this week.