The Supreme Court refused Lindell’s request to re-consider two legal questions related to Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against him and his company, MyPillow.
The United States Supreme Court has rejected MyPillow C.E.O. Mike Lindell’s request to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Technologies, which Lindell has long claimed “rigged” the 2020 presidential election.
According to CNBC, the justices did not rule on the merits of the case.
Instead, the bench simply refused to entertain Lindell’s lawsuit, paving the way for Dominion to continue litigating against the outspoken Trump supporter.
As LegalReader.com has reported before, Dominion filed defamation lawsuits against Lindell and MyPillow in February 2021.
In its complaint, Dominion claimed that Lindell and his company had purposely and continuously propagated the “Big Lie,” a far-right conspiracy theory alleging that widespread electoral fraud caused Trump to lose the 2020 presidential election.
Lindell, for instance, parroted baseless claims that Dominion officials had manipulated voting machines and ballots to ensure Joe Biden’s victory.
However, Dominion maintains that Lindell knew he was telling untruths.
Lindell’s attorneys, meanwhile, maintain that their client genuinely believes that Dominion, along with other voting technology companies, undermined Donald Trump’s chances of re-election.
“Lindell asserts today, as he did throughout the relevant period, that his statements regarding Dominion, its voting machines, and the integrity of the tabulation were, and continue to be, valid, accurate, and true,” Lindell’s legal team wrote in court documents.
CNBC notes that Lindell had earlier asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, D.C., to appeal two legal questions related to a landmark Supreme Court ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan.
In that case, that Supreme Court determined that a public figure may only pursue a defamation claim if it can demonstrate evidence of “actual malice.”
Lindell has since argued that, because Dominion could be considered a “public figure,” it must provide evidence that Lindell’s widely-publicized opinions were malicious.
Judge Nichols rejected Lindell’s request, finding that Dominion, “in addition to alleging that Lindell’s claims are inherently improbable, that his sources are unreliable, and that he has failed to acknowledge the validity of countervailing evidence, Dominion has alleged numerous instances in which Lindell told audiences to purchase MyPillow products after making his claims of election fraud and providing MyPillow promotional codes related to those theories.”
Dominion has, therefore, “adequately alleged that Lindell made his claims knowing that they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth.”
Dominion, adds CNN, is seeking up to $1.3 billion in damages, alleging that Lindell’s unfounded claims not only hurt its reputation but caused other Trump supporters to levy death threats against Dominion officials and employees.
Sources
Supreme Court allows defamation lawsuit against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to proceed
Supreme Court rejects Trump ally Mike Lindell’s appeal in 2020 election lawsuit
US supreme court rejects MyPillow chief’s bid to dodge $1.3bn lawsuit
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