Elon Musk Gets Denied in Attempt to Delay Twitter Lawsuit Trial; Judge Says It 'Threatens Irreparable Harm’

A judge has ruled that Twitter's lawsuit against billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk can go forward with a 5-day trial. This is regarded as a small victory for the social media company, as it derails Elon Musk's attempts to delay the lawsuit. The judge ordered that the trial will begin in October this year.

The judge made the decision at the end of the first hearing about whether to expedite the proceedings. The lawsuit came about a few days after Elon Musk announced he will not be moving forward with his $44 billion acquisition agreement with Twitter. The company then filed a motion to expedite the proceedings and requested a four-day trial.

Legal Battle Between Elon Musk and Twitter Promises To Be a Contentious One

According to CNN, both sides had some sharp words in their arguments last Tuesday. One of Twitter's attorneys referred to the Tesla CEO as a "committed enemy," while lead counsel William Savitt argued for a speedy trial.

He said the continued uncertainty that Musk has brought with the deal and the litigation inflicts harm on the company every day. Savitt also points out Musk's continued disparagement of the company and its social media platform. He also argued that Musk was contractually obliged to close the deal, yet he is doing the exact opposite.

However, one of Musk's attorneys, Andrew Rossman, countered, saying his client does not have an incentive to keep this hanging for a long time. He pointed out that Musk remains one of the company's largest shareholders and added that Twitter did not sue Musk until his client moved to invalidate the deal. This suggested that the company's wait invalidated its desire for a speedy process. They then asked the judge to move the trial to next year.

Delaware Judge Agrees To Fast-Track Proceedings

Unfortunately for Elon Musk's camp, the judge said in her comments that Twitter's timing in filing the lawsuit was not "unreasonable," as they claim.

Delaware Court of Chancery chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick said that Musk's camp underestimated the ability of the court to quickly process the litigation. The judge added that, in reality, the delay adds more harm to Twitter the longer it goes. She then determined that the trial would go for five days, though she added that she will entertain requests from either side to extend the trial if necessary.

Following her decision, Judge McCormick said she has confidence that both sides will rise to the occasion, according to The Verge.

NPR reported that while they initially wanted a 4-day trial in September, it is a win for Twitter's legal team, as Musk's team wanted a longer one next year. According to the Musk legal team, they wanted more time to investigate their client's concerns over Twitter.

Legal experts largely agree that Musk is facing an uphill battle with this case. The Delaware Court of Chancery is known to frown upon those who back out of huge merger deals, and one of the lead counsels on Twitter's side was also a chancellor for the Delaware Court of Chancery.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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