By
Bena Ilyas
April 23rd, 2024
The lawsuit was to determine if Musk was under obligation to complete the deal or pay the breakup fee.
As the matter between Twitter and Elon Musk continues, the social media company has won its motion for an expedited trial which begins in October. This came after Twitter charged Musk to court in order to force him to complete the acquisition deal. Meanwhile, the billionaire refused to go on with the initial buy-off plan, claiming that the company did not provide the demanded information. Musk had earlier said that Twitter did not give accurate information on the number of fake and bots accounts on its platform. Twitter said Musk is refusing to honor his obligations. According to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, the lawsuit was filed to hold the Tesla CEO accountable for his contractual obligations.
Majorly, the lawsuit was to determine if Musk was under obligation to complete the deal or pay the breakup fee. In the original agreement between Musk and Twitter ahead of the coming expedited trial, it is said that the CEO will pay a sum of $1 billion if he decides to back off the deal.
Court Rules Expedited Trial to Favor Twitter against Musk
Now, Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick has ruled an expedited trial between Musk and Twitter. The five-day expedited trial in favor of Twitter came after the company sought a four-day trial in September. The court’s Chancellor passed the ruling after a hearing done via teleconference.
Twitter’s lawyer, Bill Savitt of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, argued that the company’s initial plea for a trial in September confirmed the timelines of previous similar cases. Savitt also emphasized the need for an expedited trial to address the ongoing harm Twitter is experiencing caused by Musk. The uncertainty of the deal has raised concerns among the social media company’s shareholders. The inconclusive deal has also impacted Twitter’s shares. According to the lawyer, Musk may be delaying the trial for personal gains, including leaving a short time for appeals.
On the other hand, Andrew Rossman of Quinn Emmanuel, who is representing Musk in court against Twitter, argued the timeline of the expedited trial. The lawyer claimed that the timeline is not convenient for his team to review the enormous data trove on Twitter. Musk wants to review the social network company’s data to verify the percentage of spam accounts on the platform. While Twitter stated that 5% of its accounts are bots or spam, the billionaire contended that the answer was inaccurate.
As for Rossman, Twitter wants to “shroud” the number in secrecy and not present the correct information to Musk. However, Savitt noted that determining the percentage of spam or bot Twitter accounts is not necessary. The Twitter lawyer said no agreement in the merger deal demands it.