Over a $44 billion agreement, Elon Musk filed a countersuit against Twitter under seal
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) was countersued by Elon Musk on Friday, increasing his legal battle against the social media firm over his desire to walk away from the $44 billion acquisition, even though the complaint was filed confidentially.
![Over a $44 billion agreement, Elon Musk filed a countersuit against Twitter under seal](https://www.newscensus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mariia-shalabaieva-PbMXvG9PLv8-unsplash.jpg)
Under court procedures, a redacted version of the 164-page document might soon be made public.
A five-day trial to decide whether Musk may walk away from the arrangement was set by Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick on Oct. 17, hours after Musk’s complaint was filed.
An inquiry to Twitter for comment went unanswered at first.
In other Musk news, a Twitter shareholder filed a lawsuit on Friday, asking a court force the billionaire to finish the acquisition, declare that he broke his fiduciary obligation to Twitter shareholders, and award damages for the losses he caused.
Musk has an obligation to Twitter shareholders as a fiduciary because of his 9.6% interest in the firm and his veto over numerous corporate decisions under the terms of the acquisition deal, claims a complaint seeking class certification. Luigi Crispo, a shareholder of 5,500 Twitter shares, filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery.
In a statement released on July 8, Tesla CEO Elon Musk faulted Twitter Inc for violating the agreement by overstating the number of false accounts on its platform, which he characterised as a violation of trust.
Musk’s contract required him to consummate the acquisition at $54.20 per share, so Twitter sued, alleging the bogus account allegations were a diversion and that Musk was obligated by the contract to close the deal at that price. This was the highest closing price for the company’s shares since Elon Musk walked away from the agreement.
Last week, McCormick accelerated the trial date because she wanted to minimise any possible damage to Twitter that the deal’s ambiguity would entail.
As a result of the legal battle, Twitter has seen a drop in income and internal turmoil.
However, there was disagreement about the scope of discovery, or the parties’ ability to examine one other’s internal records and other evidence, and a trial date of Oct. 17 had been set.
By taking its steps in responding to Musk’s discovery demands this week, Twitter has accused him of requesting material that is extraneous to the core issue at hand: whether Musk broke a bargain.
It seems the top judge’s ruling on Friday foreshadowed future discovery issues.
According to McCormick, “this order does not settle any particular discovery arguments, including the legitimacy of any requests for massive data sets”.
On Oct. 24, he’ll go on trial in Wilmington, Delaware, for a week. An investor at Tesla is challenging the company’s CEO’s record-breaking $56 billion compensation package as corporate waste and unfair enrichment.
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