Judge orders Mike Lindell’s MyPillow to pay DHL for unpaid bills

A Minnesota judge has ordered Mike Lindell’s MyPillow to pay nearly $778,000 to DHL, a global package delivery service, for unpaid bills and related costs.

Why it matters

The case marks another legal entanglement for Lindell, who is widely recognized for his prominent support of President-elect Donald Trump and for promoting Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. Lindell has said he has spent $40 million of his own money in efforts to try to overturn the election.

Lindell made his fortune as the founder and CEO of MyPillow, but his empire has been in financial trouble as he deals with a series of lawsuits stemming from his claims about the 2020 election.

What to know

The ruling, issued by Hennepin County Judge Susan Burke, orders MyPillow to pay nearly $778,000 in unpaid bills and other costs to DHL, including more than $48,000 in interest and over $4,800 in legal fees incurred by DHL.

Burke’s ruling cited MyPillow’s failure to honor an earlier agreement reached in October to pay DHL $550,000. Adding to the company’s legal woes, MyPillow representatives were notably absent from a court hearing last month aimed at resolving the payment dispute.

The lawsuit, originally filed by DHL in September, centers on a financial dispute stemming from MyPillow’s use of DHL’s delivery services. Lindell, who often serves as the company’s public face, told The Associated Press in September that the decision to cut ties with DHL came over a year ago because of shipping problems he attributed to the delivery company.

What people say

Mike Lindell said that earlier NBC News after a separate April 2023 judgment requiring Lindell to pay computer forensics expert Robert Ziedman $5 million to reveal his 2020 election data: “I have no money. I have a pickup truck and a house that I live in. That’s it.”

Computer forensics expert Robert Ziedman previously said Newsweek in relation to the separate case: “I did not file this lawsuit for the money, but to bring awareness to Mike Lindell’s spread of false information about voting machine hacking. That said, it would be nice to get that money, and this decision brings me one step closer. If Mr. Lindell runs out of appeals and doesn’t run out of money, so I end up with the $5 million that I plan to donate to nonprofits that research and promote election integrity.”

What happens next

While it’s unclear if or when DHL will receive the nearly $778,000, Lindell is also embroiled in high-stakes defamation lawsuits filed by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.

Both companies claim that Lindell’s repeated allegations of election fraud have caused significant reputational damage.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.