Eric Coomer Lawsuit: Lindell Verdict, Oltmann Fines, Settlements

The Eric Coomer lawsuit is a set of defamation cases the former Dominion Voting Systems executive filed beginning in December 2020 against the Trump campaign, attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, podcaster Joe Oltmann, and several conservative media outlets that spread the claim he had rigged the 2020 presidential election. The litigation has produced a $2.3 million jury verdict against Lindell, settlements with Powell and others, a contempt fine against Oltmann, and claims still pending against the Trump campaign now before the Colorado Supreme Court.

Who Eric Coomer Is and Why He Sued

Coomer served as director of product strategy and security at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, which provides election equipment and software to 28 states.¹ He had spent roughly a decade at Dominion and about 16 years in the elections industry before the 2020 accusations upended his career.²

In November 2020, Joe Oltmann, a Colorado conservative podcaster and founder of FEC United, claimed he had infiltrated an “Antifa conference call” before the election on which a participant identified as “the Dominion guy” allegedly said, “Don’t worry, Trump’s not going to win, I made sure of that.”³ Oltmann named Coomer as that person. A Colorado judge later concluded the story appeared to have been “manufactured around Coomer’s Facebook posts” and “deliberately crafted in a way to make it impossible to be verified.”⁴ Oltmann refused to identify his alleged source, and Trump campaign attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, along with One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, and commentators including Michelle Malkin, amplified the claim.⁵

Coomer received daily threats, went into hiding within weeks of the election, and eventually left the elections industry.¹²

The Original Lawsuit Against the Trump Campaign

On December 22, 2020, Coomer filed suit in Denver County District Court in Coomer v. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., et al. (Case No. 2020CV34319). The defendants included:⁶

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
Sidney Powell and her entities Sidney Powell, P.C. and Defending the Republic, Inc.
Rudolph Giuliani
Joseph Oltmann, FEC United, and Shuffling Madness Media, Inc. (Conservative Daily)
James Hoft and TGP Communications LLC (The Gateway Pundit)
Michelle Malkin
Eric Metaxas
Chanel Rion and Herring Networks, Inc. (One America News Network)
Newsmax Media, Inc.

The defendants moved to dismiss under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP statute. A Denver district judge denied the motions in May 2022, finding Coomer had shown a reasonable likelihood of success.⁷

Appellate Ruling and Current Status

On April 11, 2024, the Colorado Court of Appeals largely sided with Coomer. Judge Karl Schock wrote that Coomer had demonstrated a “reasonable likelihood of success on his claims for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress,” and that the evidence showed the statements were “false and that defendants made them with actual malice.”⁸ The court dismissed the civil conspiracy claim, ruling Coomer had not shown enough evidence of an agreement among the defendants.⁹

Sidney Powell reached an undisclosed settlement with Coomer on June 24, 2024.¹⁰ Claims against the Trump campaign and remaining defendants are still active, with the case now before the Colorado Supreme Court on the anti-SLAPP rulings. Some defendants’ claims have been stayed by bankruptcy filings, including TGP Communications.⁶

The Mike Lindell Verdict

Coomer’s separate federal case against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, MyPillow, and FrankSpeech was removed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in May 2022 as Coomer v. Lindell (Case No. 1:22-cv-01129).¹¹¹²¹³

The jury found three statements defamatory out of ten challenged. Two came directly from Lindell. In May 2021, Lindell told Coomer: “I mean, you are disgusting, and you are treasonous. You are a traitor to the United States of America.” In a later interview broadcast on FrankSpeech, Lindell said: “Eric Coomer, you are a criminal. Eric Coomer, your lawyers better look out. I’m not putting up with this. You’ve been a part of the biggest crime this world has ever seen.” A third statement came from another speaker at an event that FrankSpeech livestreamed.¹³

Lindell said after the verdict that he planned to appeal.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶ As of early 2026, no formal appeal to a higher court has been reported.

Sanctions for AI-Generated Fake Citations

In February 2025, Lindell’s attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster submitted a brief containing roughly 30 defective citations, including references to cases that did not exist. Kachouroff admitted the brief was drafted using generative AI and that he had not verified the citations.¹⁷

Judge Wang sanctioned Kachouroff and his firm jointly for $3,000, and DeMaster separately for $3,000, calling it “the least severe sanction adequate to deter and punish defense counsel in this instance.” Lindell was not sanctioned because his lawyers had not told him they were using AI.¹⁸ Judge Wang later ordered the attorneys to appear for a show-cause hearing over additional misattributed citations in subsequent filings.¹⁹

Joe Oltmann’s Contempt Fines

Coomer also sued Oltmann’s company Make Your Life Epic LLC, along with Clayton Thomas Clark and the ThriveTime Show, in federal court (Case No. 1:21-cv-03440).³ Those defendants reached a settlement, and the case was terminated in October 2025.²⁰

Oltmann’s personal conduct as a witness produced a longer legal fight. He was sanctioned roughly $33,000 in March 2022 for failing to appear at a deposition and refusing to answer questions.²¹ On June 6, 2024, Oltmann appeared for a subpoenaed deposition at the Denver federal courthouse, refused to answer questions about the source of the “Antifa conference call” claim, and left the courthouse during a break without permission. He later boasted about fleeing on his podcast.²²

In September 2024, Senior Judge William J. Martínez held Oltmann in civil contempt and imposed a coercive fine of $1,000 per day.²³ On June 18, 2025, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the contempt order, finding Oltmann had waived his newsperson’s privilege arguments by failing to raise them properly in the district court. The appellate court also ordered him to pay Coomer’s attorney fees and costs for the appeal, finding his brief lacked a basis in law or fact.²⁴

On July 31, 2025, Oltmann was ordered to pay $37,000 related to fleeing the deposition and an additional $53,757 in litigation costs.²² The parties told the court on July 16, 2025 that they had reached a settlement, though the terms were not disclosed.

Other Settlements

Conservative radio host Randy Corporon and Salem Media of Colorado also settled with Coomer. A joint stipulation for dismissal with prejudice was filed on June 8, 2025 and approved by Judge Heidi Kutcher on July 15, 2025. The terms were not disclosed, and each side agreed to pay its own fees and costs.²⁵

Coomer has been represented throughout by the firm Cain & Skarnulis, which has handled the cases since the initial December 2020 filing.⁷

1
NPR. The Toll of Conspiracy Theories: A Voting Security Expert Lives in Hiding
2
CPR News. Former Dominion Voting Manager Waits for His Days in Court on Multiple Suits
3
GovInfo. Coomer v. Make Your Life Epic LLC, Case No. 21-cv-3440
4
Colorado Newsline. Colorado Judge Rules Defamation Case Against Joe Oltmann Can Proceed to Trial
5
Colorado Sun. Eric Coomer Lawsuit Denver Hearing
6
Protect Democracy. TGP Coomer Joinder to Motion to Dismiss
7
C&S Trial Lawyers. C&S Earns Victory for Former Dominion Voting Systems Employee Dr. Eric Coomer
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CPR News. Former Dominion Voting Systems Employee Defamation Suit Against Trump Campaign Can Continue
9
FindLaw. Coomer v. Trump, 2024 COA 35
10
Bloomberg Law. Sidney Powell Settles Ex-Dominion Worker’s Defamation Lawsuit
11
CourtListener. Coomer v. Lindell Docket
12
Denver Post. Mike Lindell Verdict: Liable for Defamation of Eric Coomer
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CPR News. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Defamation Lawsuit Verdict
14
Colorado Sun. Mike Lindell MyPillow Defamation Verdict
15
Courthouse News. Judge Denies Motion to Overturn Jury Verdict in 2020 Election Fraud Defamation Case
16
Website DC. Coomer v. Lindell, Post-Trial Order
17
The Hill. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s Attorneys Fined for Inaccurate AI-Generated Brief
18
NPR. AI Courts Lawyers MyPillow Fines
19
Colorado Politics. Federal Judge Proposes Sanctions Against Mike Lindell’s Lawyers for Continued Fake Citations
20
CourtListener. Coomer v. Make Your Life Epic LLC Docket
21
Colorado Times Recorder. Election Denier Flees Deposition, Could Face Sanctions, Contempt of Court
22
CPR News. Dominion Voting Systems Conservative Podcaster Fined for Leaving Deposition
23
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Coomer v. Make Your Life Epic, No. 24-1390
24
Colorado Bar Association. Coomer v. Make Your Life Epic, LLC
25
Courthouse News. Conservative Radio Host Settles Defamation Suit With Ex-Dominion Employee