Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Mike Lindell
A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, will not have to pay $5 million to a software developer who claimed victory in a contest related to allegations of foreign interference in the 2020 election.
The decision, made unanimously by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Panel, stated that the Arbitration Committee overstepped its authority by changing the terms of the contest to grant an award to the developer.
“The terms and conditions agreed upon, whether fair or not, may not be altered by the Panel or this Court,” Judge James Loken remarked in his ruling.
Lindell had organized a “Cyber Symposium” in South Dakota in 2021, presenting data that alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election. He offered $5 million to anyone who could demonstrate that the data was not “clearly” related to that election.
The software developer, Robert Zeidman, submitted a 15-page report disputing the validity of Lindell’s data. However, the judge overseeing the contest determined that Zeidman was not entitled to the prize. Following the contest’s rules, he took the matter to arbitration.
After a hearing, the Arbitration Committee ruled in favor of Zeidman, concluding that he had proven Lindell failed to provide the necessary packet capture data, commonly known as PCAP files, which demonstrated the data was not election-related.
“The panel found that if external evidence were required for the provided data to be considered valid packet capture data, this effectively altered the original challenge agreement, thus violating the Minnesota Contract Act and established arbitration precedents,” Loken stated in his opinion.
Judge Loken, appointed by former President Bush, was supported in this decision by Judge Ravensky Smith, also appointed by Bush, and Judge L. Stephen Glass, appointed by President Trump.
The court’s ruling directs the lower court either to annul the $5 million arbitration award or to conduct further proceedings in accordance with the appeals court’s reversal.
In related news, Lindell is facing legal troubles stemming from his unfounded claims of widespread election fraud. Recently, a Colorado judge ordered him to pay $2.3 million to a former Dominion Voting Systems employee who sued him over defamation. He is also involved in ongoing lawsuits with both Dominion and Smartmatic.
