Elon Musk-Twitter Lawsuit Trial Date Set

Round one to Twitter . Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick has set a five-day trial in October for Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon Musk . The company had asked for an expedited four-day trial in September, while Musk’s attorneys wanted a late February date.

The ruling at today’s hearing favored Twitter as the judge agreed with its arguments that a delay can cause its business, and that of any public company, irreparable harm. She disagreed with the Musk camp, represented by Andrew Rossman, that a fall trial was an unfeasible short time frame for all parties involved. “In my view, the defendants underestimate the ability of the court,” she said after hearing arguments for both sides.

Related Story Constance Wu Reveals She Attempted Suicide After ‘Fresh Off The Boat’ Twitter Backlash She also disagreed with Rossman’s argument that Twitter should have sought recourse with the court sooner. He noted that Twitter’s been accusing Musk of violating the merger agreement starting way back in May, shortly after he agreed to it, by disparaging the company. McCormick noted the obvious, however — that the company had filed its lawsuit promptly after Musk walked away.

Twitter had argued for a September trial citing a drop-dead closing date in late October. Musk’s attorneys said that date doesn’t roll around in late April. The judge called both dates squishy.

Twitter sued Musk July 12 days after the billionaire Tesla founder’s July 8 notice that he was terminating his April 24 agreement to buy the social media platform for $44 billion in cash. The suit said Musk “refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests…Musk apparently believes that he — unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away. ” Musk has insisted that there are serious questions about the number of bot, or spam accounts on Twitter and his attorneys also cited a few other reasons why they considered the deal null and void.

Twitter said Musk had waived due diligence and that the bot issue has no bearing on the case. “Nothing in the negotiation leading to the deal or the merger itself are in any way contingent on bots or false or spam accounts. The issue is a litigating position designed to obfuscate or delay,” Twitter attorney William Savitt said at the hearing.

The deal allow Musk certain powers pending the close, including the ability to block an employee retention program Twitter wants. Savitt said he won’t let the company terminate a credit facility, subjecting it to expense “for no reason. ” Delaying the trial leaves Twitter “in the hands of a committed enemy,” he said.

The agreement calls for a $1 billion breakup fee but Twitter says that’s only for good cause. It has said it means to enforce the purchase. Wall Streeters think a settlement is more likely.

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