The Delaware trial over Elon Musk’s bid to takeover the social media platform Twitter will begin Oct. 17, a Chancery Court judge decided Thursday night.
The trial will begin about three months after Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk for breaking his agreement to buy the company for $44 billion. Twitter had pushed for an expedited trial to limit damage to the company stemming from the uncertainty around the deal, asking Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick to start the trial in early September. Musk’s legal team wanted the trial to begin early next year because of the complexity of the case.
McCormick previously said Musk’s team underestimated the Delaware court’s ability to “quickly process complex litigation.” In a filing Thursday night that set the trial for Oct. 17-21, McCormick also set 5 p.m. Friday as the deadline for Musk’s team to respond to Twitter’s complaint.
The trial could be the second time Musk testifies in Delaware. He appeared in Wilmington last year to testify in a shareholder lawsuit over whether Musk and the directors of his electric car company Tesla breached their fiduciary duties when they agreed to a $2 billion deal to buy SolarCity, a struggling solar-panel installing company founded by his two of his cousins with his help. The court sided with Musk earlier this year.
Twitter is trying to force the billionaire to make good on his April promise to buy Twitter for $54.20.
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An attorney for Twitter, William Savitt said the contested merger agreement and tweets by Musk disparaging the company were inflicting harm on the business and questioned Musk’s request for a delayed trial, asking “whether the real plan is to run out the clock.”
“It’s attempted sabotage. He’s doing his best to run Twitter down,” Savitt said earlier this month.
Musk has claimed the company has failed to provide adequate information about the number of fake, or “spam bot,” Twitter accounts, and that it has breached its obligations under the deal by firing top managers and laying off a significant number of employees.
Associated Press contributed.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
