MyPillow CEO's request to dismiss voting machine company's lawsuit denied

A judge on Monday denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Smartmatic over false claims about its voting systems.

Driving the news: Smartmatic, a company that provided election technology and services to Los Angeles County during the 2020 election, alleges that Lindell and MyPillow publicly promoted "the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen," per the court order.

• Lindell is a staunch supporter of former President Trump and has falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Details: A federal judge in Minnesota dismissed separate motions from both Lindell and MyPillow, concluding that Smartmatic has alleged sufficient facts for a plausible claim.

• The claims include that Lindell's allegations were false and that he acted with malice in making the statements.

Background: Lindell filed a counter-suit in April 2021 after Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems Inc. — another voting technology company — sued him for defamation over his election-fraud claims.

• A federal judge sanctioned Lindell in May for what the judge called "frivolous" claims against Smartmatic.

Of note: The complaint against Lindell is one of several cases filed by Smartmatic and Dominion after the 2020 election against those who have made false statements about the companies' voting technology, per Politico.

Go deeper: MyPillow CEO says FBI seized his cellphone