Big news from the federal level! On Wednesday, a federal appeals court has come down on the side of MyPillow’s Mike Lindell, allowing him to avoid the hefty $5 million payout to the software developer who declared himself the winner in Lindell’s controversial contest focused on election fraud allegations from 2020.
The unanimous decision from a trio of judges on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals indicated that a previous arbitration panel went beyond its authority by altering clear terms of the contract to decide in favor of the developer for the cash prize.
“No matter how you slice it, an agreed contract can’t just be flipped around by either the panel or the court,” said U.S. Circuit Judge James Loken in the 12-page ruling.
Lindell didn’t shy away from voicing his view about the legal battle, referring to the lawsuit as a “setup.”
“This feels like a win for me. It’s like a door has swung open that can’t be shut now. I’m really thrilled about this, it feels like a prayer answered,” Lindell told The Hill.
Back in 2021, Lindell hosted a drama-filled “Cyber Symposium” in South Dakota, where he shared data alleging Chinese interference in President Biden’s victory during the 2020 election. He even put up $5 million, claiming it would go to anyone able to demonstrate that his allegations about the 2020 election were completely unfounded.
One of the contestants, software developer Robert Zeidman, came forward with a comprehensive 15-page report dismissing Lindell’s data. But the contest’s judging panel declared that Zeidman couldn’t claim the prize, and so he took the dispute to arbitration as per contest rules.
After hearing the evidence, the arbitration panel ruled in favor of Zeidman, asserting he had effectively demonstrated that Lindell hadn’t provided the required packet capture data (often known as PCAP files), thus proving it wasn’t credible election data.
In the opinion, Loken noted, “The panel basically modified the clear Challenge contract when it started using outside evidence to require the provided data to be packet capture data, which flips the rules of Minnesota contract law and our past arbitration decisions on their head.”
Judge Loken, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, had the agreement of U.S. Circuit Judges Lavenski Smith and L. Steven Grasz, who were appointed by President George W. Bush and President Trump, respectively.
The verdict now tells a lower court to either wipe the $5 million arbitration award clean or take further actions aligned with this appeals court’s findings.
Brian Glasser, the lawyer for Zeidman, backed the arbitration decision when reached for comments.
“I believe the readers can decide for themselves whether the judgment from the Eighth Circuit today makes more sense or resonates more than the unanimous decision from the three arbitrators who reviewed the entire case, including one appointed by Mr. Lindell,” Glasser remarked in an email.
Lindell hasn’t been able to escape the spotlight as he faces continuous legal challenges tied to his unfounded claims of mass election fraud during the 2020 election.
Just last month, a jury in Colorado ruled that Lindell owed $2.3 million to a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems after a defamation lawsuit. Additionally, ongoing defamation suits from both Dominion and Smartmatic, another voting systems company, still loom over him.
“Before any of those could ever make it to trial, you’re going to witness my big win as I turn these machines into prison bars,” Lindell confidently stated.
Updated at 1:51 p.m. EDT
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