Twitter gets a win over Elon Musk with trial fast-tracked for October
- Judge agreed to a fast-track trial on whether to force the Tesla chief to complete his US$44 billion buyout of the social network
- Musk’s lawyers had pushed for a February 2023 date, but court in Delaware hewed closely to Twitter’s desire for speed and set October start
Twitter scored an early win against Elon Musk in its fight to make him complete his US$44 billion buyout, as a Delaware judge agreed to fast-track the case with an October trial date.
Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick on Tuesday scheduled the trial for five days in autumn, instead of two weeks in February as the billionaire requested. Twitter argued it was suffering under the Tesla founder’s withdrawal from the deal and disparagement of the social media company.
The ruling marks the first victory for Twitter in a case in which many legal experts say Musk will be the underdog.
In a hearing in Wilmington, the judge made clear she saw little merit in Musk’s scheduling arguments, saying his lawyers “underestimate the ability of this court to quickly process” complex disputes in merger-and-acquisition cases.
McCormick found that the battle over the teetering transaction was “creating a cloud of uncertainty” over Twitter. “The reality is, continued delays threaten imminent harm” to the company, she said.
The judge had no questions for Twitter’s lawyer after his argument but did stop Musk’s lawyer when he called the September 19 trial start Twitter proposed “preposterous”. She cited a past case that moved to trial within three months and rejected the Musk lawyer’s argument that she herself took a year to get another case to trial, noting the constraints of the pandemic at the time.