Judge Dismisses Shareholder Lawsuit Over Elon's Twitter Takeover

A California judge dismissed a suit revenge by a erstwhile Twitter shareholder against nan company’s soon to beryllium ex-CEO Elon Musk connected Monday. The lawsuit, claiming Musk attempted to cheat Twitter shareholders, was revenge successful May of past twelvemonth and accused Musk of engaging successful marketplace manipulation during his acquisition bid to bargain retired nan company for $44 billion.

Musk had primitively claimed he wanted to backmost retired of nan connection because location was a surplus of bots connected nan Twitter platform, and successful a letter to nan company, his lawyers wrote, “Twitter is successful worldly breach of aggregate provisions of that Agreement, appears to person made mendacious and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied erstwhile entering into nan Merger Agreement, and is apt to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect.”

William Heresniak, who was a shareholder astatine nan clip of Musk’s acquisition, revenge nan suit claiming Musk had attempted to backmost retired of nan woody because his Tesla stock, which he had utilized arsenic collateral for a $12.5 cardinal indebtedness to acquisition Twitter, declined successful worth “by complete 37% since nan announcement of nan buyout.” The suit besides claimed that Musk had helped friends connected nan fiduciary board, including Jack Dorsey, putting nan shareholder’s needs connected nan backmost burner.

Musk’s squad revenge a mobility to dismiss, calling Heresniak’s claims “a disjointed laundry database of – often irrelevant – grievances against Elon Musk.” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sided pinch Musk, dismissing nan suit and saying Heresniak couldn’t beryllium that he was harmed by Musk’s effort to backmost out, nor could he beryllium that Musk assisted committee members.

Judge Breyer said that Heresniak’s title wasn’t valid because, astatine nan clip of Musk’s takeover, he didn’t situation its fairness, only nan “wrongs associated pinch nan merger.” In nan motion, Judge Breyer added, “Though Heresniak alleges that Musk was enriched by acquiring Twitter banal astatine depressed prices, he does not allege that Heresniak mislaid money arsenic a result.”

Heresniak’s attorneys did not instantly respond to Gizmodo’s petition for comment.

Ahead of his eventual acquisition, Musk bought up Twitter shares, resulting successful a 9.2% Twitter stake, but because he did not instantly disclose nan information, Heresniak claimed Musk earned millions of dollars while cheating nan shareholders. The judge said that Heresniak could not beryllium he had been harmed by Musk’s belated disclosure, which he claimed allowed nan CEO to bargain further shares astatine decreased prices up of nan buyout.

The judge besides said successful nan mobility to disregard that location was nary impervious that committee members Jack Dorsey and Silver Lake backstage equity patient managing partner Egon Durban received typical curen from Musk, saying location is nary grounds that Musk “knowingly participated” successful nan breach by moving pinch nan fiduciary board.

Musk still faces astatine slightest 9 different Twitter lawsuits from vendors claiming he has a mixed full of $14 cardinal successful missed payments. An further suit was revenge past week pinch respective allegations, 1 of which claimed he “put lives astatine risk” by installing forbidden locks connected nan bedrooms astatine headquarters.