Dear Mike Lindell - $1.3 billion seems like “just the tip”...heard you got served today

To quote one of my favorite childhood movie “Dell, where’s your other hand”...”in between two pillows....those aren’t pillows... and this lawsuit is phenomenal

Mr My Pillow…

This clip from the classic movie “Planes Trains and Automobiles” runs on loop every time I see you or MyPillow happen to be “in the news”…

Dominion Voting Systems, has completely run out of fig newtons…

All kidding aside, I think we should briefly discuss Dominion Voting System’s (DVS) newest lawsuit. While the damaged Dominion is seeking might make some think that it’s just an easy money grab. I would like to explain why this is not the case. Meaning it’s not really about the money but it is kind of about the money. Unlike what some unformed Twitter-Self-Appointed-Celebrities might tell you, litigation is a costly and protracted endeavor. There tends to be this persistent myth that Corporations rush to file a lawsuit.

That is not the case (pun not intended).

If anyone tells you otherwise then they are really s__ty litigants or completely uninformed about the actual litigation process. What I mean is the “real” litigation process, not the fictionalized made for TV series/movies nonsense. In fact many firms earn their reputation by rarely ever stepping foot in to a Courtroom. Meaning in protracted litigation the only party that wins are the attorneys and their billable hours. (thanks for keeping me game-fully employed) Most ethical firms put their clients short and long term interest first and this is the foremost priority. If a dispute can be resolved outside of a Courtroom, that is typically the prudent course of action. With one rare exception; the recent Dominion Voting System.

To sue or not to sue;

In advance of filing a lawsuit in Federal Court, it is in the plaintiffs best interest to establish a record of putting the opposing party on notice. This is typical archived by documentation to include (but not limited to); written requests (colloquially known as “cease and desist”) , various communiques to/from and ultimately letters to act as a contemporaneous record.

Again the misnomer that Companies rush to file a lawsuit - that’s not the reality and anyone who’s pushing this trite and pedestrian narrative should either delete their tweets or Twitter account. I don’t need to name drop, they know who they are and their threads are hilarious. You didn’t even know what “tort” was until I explained tort - contract but now you think your an Attorney. Did you get your JD from Trump University? Bruh stay in your lane, stick to French or expect to be flattened like a pancake.

Dominion other lawsuits:

In chronological order and because I am adamant that I want my readers should have as much access to public original/root documents as possible. Unlike some I don’t hoard public information- because hoarding information means you’re likely abusing your follower base to solely rely on your tweets for documents.

DOMINION FILES DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST RUDY GIULIANI

01/25/21 - Download Complaint (PDF) and Dominion statement on Giuliani defamation suit

DOMINION FILES DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST SIDNEY POWELL

• 01/08/21 - Download Complaint (PDF)

• Dominion statement on Powell defamation suit

• Dominion statement on Powell charges against the company

• Demand letter to Sidney Powell (PDF)

• Dominion statement on retraction demand to Sidney Powell

Mike, you ignored Dominion’s request at your own peril. They gave you three chances;

• December 23 letter cautioned Mr. Lindell against falsely accusing Dominion of rigging the 2020 presidential election and directed him to preserve documents related to his false accusations.

• A January 8 letter repeated the call to retract Lindell’s false claims about Dominion and put him on formal written notice of specific detailed information and evidence demonstrating the falsity of his claims.

• A February 4 letter detailed numerous red flags and flaws in the fake evidence that Lindell chose to feature in the video he released the next day.

MyPillow, Mike Liddell and Dominion:

Before we dive into the particulars of today’s lawsuit, I should probably disclose that Mike Liddell has been repeatedly proven to be a con-man and several courts approved settlement agreements for MyPillow’s deceptive advertising practices. At the time, I created multiple Twitter threads that linked to MyPillow’s Settlement Agreements and other consumer protection remedies. Quasi archived here, and here

Now back to today’s filing, unlike the Giuliani and Powell lawsuits, today’s is entirely different. Whereas Dominion argues that MyPillow & Liddell profited off the the demonstratively false lies about Dominion Voting Systems. Which is why it is important to explain how this complaint varies from the previous ones. Specifically DVS’ opening salvo is pretty important - a copy of DVS complaint can be found here.

“…promo codes like “FightforTrump,” “45,” “Proof,” and “QAnon”—has increased MyPillow sales by 30-40% and continues duping people into redirecting their election-lie outrage into pillow purchases…”

Paragraph 3 is a precise summarization of the; who, why, what, when and how. With DVS’ astute candor of saying “hard evidence” because those are the facts, not alternative facts. DVS’ and thrice put Liddell on notice. Going as far as to communicate directly with Liddell that his wanton disregard for the truth and facts had a direct adverse reaction, by some fervent MAGA-QANON believing his lies and acted as a catalyst for some of DVS’ employees receiving death threats.

Again I might be biased because as Trump and his obsequious sycophants screaming increased both in volume and intensity- “the big lie” started taking root and some in the general electorate believe these audacious lies. To be fair slander and defamation can be hard to prove -again the exception here is DVS because the factual record tips in DVS’ favor.

As you know (because of my previous research, (archived here, and here) both MyPillow and its CEO, Mike Liddell have a long and documented, factual history of “selling snake oil” so much so that several prosecutors filed court action against both entities and multiple settlement agreements were executed. So it makes perfect sense for DVS’ to highlight MyPillow and Mike Liddell’s illustrious past of deceptive marketing practices

And yet MyPillow and Mike Liddell’s return on advertising investment paid off nearly four fold. As enumerated in paragraph 19, nearly 38% of all advertising placed on Tucker Carlson’s “disinformation-entertainment” and 15% of all advertising on Sean Hannity’s show came from MyPillow - it netted Liddell millions in (arguably) unjust enrichment because Liddell’s pivot to amplify “the big lie” was a business bet and the dividends paid off handsomely.

And as DVS’ explains after Liddell “kissed” Donald Trump’s ring - he received the endorsement that he wanted, again at the peril of facts. I suppose Liddell could rationalize his “the big lie” that he genuinely believes these non-factual conspiracies. Notwithstanding the Reputational damage sustained by DVS is hard to put an exact dollar amount on. But the fact is employees of DVS receiving death threats, that kind of injury is hard to quantify.

Not to trigger your PTSD but DVS’ points to this particular exchange between Liddell and CNN’s Anderson Cooper. The reason this is important? “Prior statements yo” -this also helps DVS establish a predicate that Liddell knew what he was saying was untruthful, he had been informed vis-a-vis three letters which rebutted his lies with facts, yet Liddell persisted with a “wanton disregard” for DVS and its employees

And repeat after me - it is never and I mean never a good time for “game theory…” as detailed in paragraph 26 et seq. The plaintiffs argue that Lindell’s affinity towards “game theory…” and basing his business model how to exploit “game theory…” -Whereas making informed calculations based on facts versus some numbers that you “juiced” up simply to maximize your return on investment. Well that kind of makes you a charlatan and possibly a vulgar grifter. One that bets on people’s reflexive behavior versus being an honest and decent business “man”.

No really Lindell affinity towards “game theory” meant he knew what he was saying was specious and he just didn’t care. By all appearances Lindell saw an opportunity to become even wealthier than he already was, but the “hitch” was he had to amplify Trump’s “big lie”. Frustrated by the fact that Lindell sought Trump’s endorsement and once he gained it, he had to tow Trump’s lies.

This is further confirmed by the various “benefits” Lindell and his company received, sponsoring a Tour Bus, making numerous appearances on nightly cable news programs, that Lindell owed Trump his loyalty…because Trump could ruin him if Lindell stepped out of line. Instead Lindell not only towed the Trump lie but he did so at the damage of VDS’ corporate reputation. Ergo that’s a big concrete and particularized injury.

And in the preceding weeks leading up to the deadly January 6th Insurrection- MyPillow earned the coveted sponsorship of “the magical tour bus” which went on a twenty city tour throughout the United States.

Well. Well. Well. I did not know that Lindell helped finance the Wood/Powell disinformation tour of deceit and lies. But now we know for sure;

…offered Lindell the purported “evidence” he was looking for—which they posted on a fundraising website in support of a defamatory media tour falsely alleging that Dominion stole the election by manipulating votes through the use of an algorithm. Lindell helped finance Powell’s and Wood’s defamatory media campaign. (emphasis added)

When a grifter out grifts each other. Again “free speech” does not protect you from facing consequences of spreading lies, slander and/or libel. Particularly if you know what you are saying is not true. Go look up New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)¹- a SCOTUS landmark ruling and giving us the “actual malice” doctrine.²

“Mr. Lindell advertised 'absolute proof,' but he delivered absolute nonsense and fake documents sourced from the dark corners of the internet. The cartoonish evidence that he offered in his video cannot be reconciled with any level of logic or truth. It would be easy to rack this up as a piece of fiction that is not worth any response—but unfortunately, countless people actually believed it and sent MyPillow some of their hard-earned money as a result. Mike Lindell needs to be held accountable for defaming Dominion and undermining the integrity of our electoral system all the while profiting from it." Dominion legal counsel Megan Meier, Partner at Clare Locke LLP

1. New York Times Company v. Sullivan. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/39

2. highlighted/annotated copy can be found here