The legal fight between Twitter and investor Elon Musk stretches on as lawyers argue over pretrial information.
Key Details
- The long legal battle between billionaire Elon Musk and social media company Twitter is drawing to an end as the long-awaited trial is less than three weeks away.
- Today, a Delaware judge is hearing arguments over the exchange of information by lawyers of both parties.
- The hearing has been set to discuss certain details leading up to the trial that both parties think are crucial to their case.
Why it’s news
The hearing will begin with arguments on a motion by Musk’s attorneys to revise their answer to the lawsuit and their counterclaims against Twitter for the second time.
Musk’s attorneys want to add information regarding a severance agreement and $7.75 million payment to former employee Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. Musk’s attorneys assert that Twitter needed his consent before making the payment but failed to do so, according to AP News.
Twitter attorneys argue that if they are to include the information on the firing of Zatko then Musk should have to hand over all communication records since December between Musk, his advisers and co-investors that involve Zatko.
Several other arguments pertaining Twitter and Musk will be heard including Musk’s lawyers efforts to get more data from a sampling of about 9,000 Twitter accounts in the fourth quarter of 2021, and claims that Twitter is withholding too much confidential information.
Backing up a bit
The timeline between Elon Musk and Twitter is a lengthy one.
In April, Elon Musk announced that he held a 9.2% stake in Twitter, which made him the social-media company’s largest shareholder. Twitter’s stock price soared 25% after the announcement.
Later that month, the billionaire entrepreneur offered to buy all of Twitter at $54.20 per share—equaling about $44 billion. He said he originally invested in the platform because he believes it is failing in its potential to be the leading platform for free speech around the globe. In fact, he asked his 2 million followers if Twitter adhered to principles of free speech, and 70% said “no.”
Last month, Musk decided to back out of the deal, claiming there were too many fake accounts on the platform. Twitter has since sued Musk in Delaware Court of Chancery to complete the deal and requested the trial to take place in September. Musk, on the other hand, wanted to delay the trial until February 2023, stating that a case of this size takes time to prepare. Twitter was granted its wish of an expedited trial, with Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the presiding judge, setting a five-day trial for October.
Musk then countersued Twitter, stating his reason for the termination was due to Twitter not being upfront about the number of fake accounts on the platform.Then, Elon Musk and his legal team subpoenaed Twitter’s founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, to get him to release documents that provide accurate information on bots and spam accounts on the social-media platform and now these documents have come out from Zatko and Musk and his lawyers have subpoenaed him as well.
Now both parties await the October 17 trial.
