Elon Musk Can Use $7.8 Mn Twitter Whistle-Blower Payment in His Counterclaims
Elon Musk can use a $7.8 million severance payment to a Twitter Inc. whistle-blower to argue he was justified in walking away from his $44 billion buyout of the company, the latest turn in a bruising battle set for trial next month.
Delaware Chancery Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled Thursday that the billionaire can amend his counterclaims to Twitter's lawsuit against him with the payment to Peiter Zatko. Musk claims Twitter failed to get his consent for the severance agreement, violating the terms of the buyout. Twitter sued Musk in July to force him to consummate the $54.20-per-share deal.
The ruling is a boost for Musk in a closely watched case that has seen a torrent of subpoenas, including Musk's of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who has been an energetic booster of the buyout. The trial is set for five days starting Oct. 17.
Zatko, Twitter's former head of security, made headlines when he came forward to allege that he raised questions about the number of spam and bot accounts embedded in Twitter's customer base but was ignored by management. He testified this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the lapses were so serious they threatened national security.
Twitter has said it fired Zatko in January for poor performance and has cited “a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context.”
Twitter representatives didn't immediately return an email seeking comment on Thursday's decision. The company didn't oppose Musk's request to amend his arguments with the Zatko payment.
In her brief ruling, McCormick said Delaware's laws allow for “liberal amendment in the interest of resolving cases on the
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
