Advertisement

Judge fast tracks Twitter-Elon Musk trial, says delay could 'harm' social platform

Twitter filed the suit in a bid to complete the $44 billion acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he no longer wants to buy the social platform. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 5 | Twitter filed the suit in a bid to complete the $44 billion acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he no longer wants to buy the social platform. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

July 19 (UPI) -- A Delaware judge on Tuesday granted Twitter's request for an expedited trial in its lawsuit against Elon Musk that's trying to force him to go through with a $44 billion agreement to buy the social media company.

Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ordered the trial to be held over five days in October.

Advertisement

Twitter sued Musk last week after the SpaceX and Tesla CEO filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission to call off the acquisition. Musk accused Twitter of not complying with contractual obligations to provide information on fake user accounts on the platform.

Twitter, meanwhile, accused Musk of bullying and making efforts to "trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value and walk away" from the deal. Twitter's stock value sank in the hours after Musk's filing seeking to drop the deal.

Attorneys for Twitter asked for a September court date and a speedy trial to lessen the negative impact they said has been caused by the uncertainty of the deal, CNBC reported.

Musk's attorney, Andrew Rossman, said an expedited trial doesn't leave his team enough time to evaluate the data involved.

Advertisement

McCormick agreed to a fast-tracked trial during Tuesday's virtual hearing.

"The reality is that delay threatens irreparable harm to sellers and Twitter," she said according to NPR. "The longer the delay, the greater the risk."

Latest Headlines