Chancellor
Twitter has sued Musk, asking the
Musk's legal team has argued that the allegations made by Zatko to
The judge's ruling followed an hours-long hearing Tuesday at which attorneys for Musk and Twitter argued with each other about the merits of Zatko's claims and the pace at which both sides are producing evidence ahead of the trial.
Twitter's attorneys sought to downplay the relevance of Zatko's allegations to the merger dispute, arguing that an initial 27-page complaint he sent to Twitter and a later retaliation clam made no mention of the “spam bot” issues that Musk has given as a reason to terminate the deal. Zatko “never said a word about spam or bots” until his July whistleblower complaint, said Twitter attorney
Twitter has argued for weeks that Musk’s stated reasons for backing out were just a cover for buyer’s remorse after agreeing to pay 38% above Twitter’s stock price shortly before the stock market stumbled and shares of the electric-car maker
McCormick, the judge, said Wednesday the newly published whistleblower complaint gave Musk's team grounds to amend its countersuit but she declined to weigh in on the details.
“I am reticent to say more concerning the merits of the counterclaims at this posture before they have been fully litigated,” she wrote. "The world will have to wait for the post-trial decision.”
McCormick, however, sided with Twitter's concerns that delaying the trial would make it harder for the company to get back to business.
“I am convinced that even four weeks’ delay would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify," she wrote.
In afternoon trading, Twitter shares added 5.5% to
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