Mike Lindell, a Republican candidate for Minnesota governor, flashes two thumbs up as he arrives to take part in a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt).
MyPillow CEOÂ Mike Lindell has forfeited the right to appeal his loss in a contempt case over court-ordered debts, according to a Friday filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In a six-page motion to dismiss, Smartmatic told the appellate court that Lindell has simply not deigned to follow through.
“Here, Appellants have failed to comply with this Court’s Order and the D.C. Circuit Rules, and have failed to prosecute this appeal, such that dismissal is warranted,” the filing argues.
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Smartmatic, for its part, has long been owed a substantial tranche of funds after the court overseeing the underlying district court case sanctioned Lindell. And, for just as long, Lindell has refused to pay.
The long-running dispute began in February 2021 when Dominion Voting Systems — which has since been bought out and rebranded as Liberty Vote Holdings — sued MyPillow and Lindell for $1.3 billion after the stalwart ally of President Donald Trump accused both voting companies of variously rigging the 2020 presidential election.
Lindell, in turn, filed reprisal lawsuits — adding Smartmatic as a third-party defendant to the case — for myriad counterclaims and lost. Smartmatic later moved for sanctions and won in 2022.
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.
Then, nearly a year passed.
In April 2026, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, finally answered Smartmatic’s call for sanctions. In a contempt order, the court tacked on $500 for each day of continued “noncompliance” and chastised the pillow salesman at length.
“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.
As of June of this year, Lindell still had not paid Smartmatic to cure the contempt. In a motion to enter final judgment, the company told the court that the delay in paying had nearly doubled the amount due.
Then, in July, Nichols entered the final judgment order.
In August, Lindell filed a notice of appeal.
Since filing that notice with both the D.C. District Court and the D.C. Circuit Court, however, very little has made its way to the docket. In sum, there are only seven such entries. But one of those entries was made by the court clerk — setting schedules and deadlines.
Smartmatic’s Friday motion says Lindell has allowed each of those deadlines to thoroughly whoosh past him in the case.
“Pursuant to the Court’s August 25, 2026 Order, Appellants were required to file their initial submission in this appeal by September 24, 2026,” the motion continues. “To date, Appellants have not filed anything or requested leave for an extension of time. Appellants’ violations of this Court’s Rules justify dismissal of their appeal.”
The filing elaborates on the dearth of motions:
[O]n August 25, 2026, this Court entered an Order directing Appellants to file initial submissions by September 24, 2026 and setting a dispositive motion deadline of October 9, 2026. The Court further sent a letter directing counsel for Appellants to apply for admission to the bar of this Court.
Appellants failed to file any of the initial submissions enumerated in the Court’s August 25, 2026 Order by the September 24, 2026 deadline, including but not limited to the Certificate as to Parties, Rulings, and Related Cases; Docketing Statement Form; Statement of Issues to be Raised; Transcript Status Report; and Underlying Decision[s] from Which Appeal or Petition Arises. No attorney has filed an appearance on behalf of Appellants.
“More than two weeks have passed since [Lindell’s] initial submissions were due, and Appellants have filed none of them,” the motion goes on. “No counsel has entered an appearance on [Lindell’s] behalf. Appellants have not sought an extension or otherwise taken any steps to prosecute this appeal.”
And, to hear Smartmatic tell it, this decided lack of filing has proved to be a burden on the company as well — at least in context.
“[Lindell’s] inaction has prevented this appeal from proceeding and has left Smartmatic unable to evaluate the issues Appellants intend to raise,” the motion continues. “Because [Lindell and MyPillow] have failed to take any steps to prosecute this action, dismissal of the appeal is warranted.”
Smartmatic is asking the court to dismiss Lindell’s appeal with prejudice.
The post Smartmatic tells D.C. Circuit Mike Lindell has ‘not filed anything’ in appeal of contempt ruling and says case should be dismissed with prejudice first appeared on Law & Crime.
