Twitter’s battle with Elon Musk over $44 billion deal heads to October 17 trial

Musk, the world’s richest particular person and chief government of Tesla Inc, has till to file any counterclaims, in keeping with the order signed late Thursday by Chancellor Kathleen McCormick of the Delaware Court docket of Chancery.

Musk’s attorneys have stated he would possibly file counterclaims – primarily his personal lawsuit towards Twitter – during which he may search monetary damages for the disputed deal.

The Tesla CEO and SpaceX chief stated he was strolling away from the deal on July 8, blaming Twitter Inc for breaching the merger settlement by misrepresenting the variety of pretend accounts on its platform.

Twitter sued days later, calling the pretend account claims a distraction and saying Musk was sure by the merger contract to shut the deal at $54.20 per share. The corporate’s shares have been up 1.4% in morning buying and selling on Friday at $41.45.

McCormick fast-tracked the case to trial final week, saying she needed to restrict the potential hurt to Twitter attributable to the uncertainty of the deal.

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Twitter has blamed the courtroom struggle for slumping income and inflicting chaos inside the firm.

The 2 sides had mainly agreed to an Oct. 17 trial, however have been at odds over the bounds of discovery, or entry to inside paperwork and different proof.

Musk accused Twitter this week of dragging its ft in response to his discovery requests, and Twitter accused him of searching for large quantities of knowledge which might be irrelevant to the principle situation within the case: whether or not Musk had violated the deal contract.

The chief choose in her order appeared to anticipate discovery disputes to come back.

“This order doesn’t resolve any particular discovery disputes, together with the propriety of any requests for giant knowledge units,” stated McCormick.

Musk additionally faces a weeklong trial in Wilmington, Delaware, starting Oct. 24. A Tesla shareholder is searching for to void as company waste and unjust enrichment the CEO’s record-breaking $56 billion pay bundle from the electrical car maker.