In light of the whistleblower disclosure stating that the company has significant security flaws, Elon Musk’s legal team is requesting to postpone the trial with Twitter over their $44 billion takeover deal by one month.
After a court determined that the uncertainty caused by a protracted legal procedure faced Twitter with “irreparable loss,” the matter is currently scheduled to go to trial in the Delaware Chancery Court for five days beginning October 17.
However, Musk’s legal team suggested a fresh timetable in a court filing on Monday, with the trial possibly taking place in November, depending on the court’s availability.
A copy of the disclosure made by the former Twitter head of security and whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, which was originally published by CNN and the Washington Post last week, was one of the documents attached to the motion, one of which was sealed.
A chance to revise their counterclaims and responses to Twitter’s initial case, which accuses the billionaire of breaking the contract and requests that the court order him to complete the sale, has also been requested by Musk’s legal team.
In a statement to CNN Business, a Twitter representative stated that the firm remained “committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk. We have not breached any of our representations or obligations under the Agreement, and have not suffered and are not likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect.”
After Musk on Monday wrote a letter to Twitter citing Zatko’s disclosure as another justification for cancelling the transaction, Musk on Tuesday moved to postpone the trial. If the accusations are accurate, according to the letter, Twitter broke its end of the bargain.
In addition to Twitter’s alleged security flaws, Zatko’s disclosure claims that the company has violated intellectual property rights, violated its 2011 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission, lacks incentives to accurately measure spam and false accounts on the platform and that executives have misled the board and regulators. Twitter reacted negatively to Zatko’s allegations and generally refuted them.
In response to Musk, Twitter sent its own letter on Tuesday rejecting his latest attempt to scrap the deal, calling it “invalid and wrongful.” Musk’s letter, Twitter wrote, “is based solely on statements made by a third party that, as Twitter has previously stated, are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack important context.”
The request for a delay is the newest illustration of how the legal dispute has been affected by the whistleblower disclosure. Additionally, Musk’s legal counsel served a subpoena on Zatko, who is scheduled to show up for a deposition on September 9.
“Mr. Zatko will comply with his legal obligations of that subpoena and his appearance at the deposition is involuntary,” Zatko’s attorneys, Debra Katz and Alexis Ronickher, said in a statement Monday. “He did not make his whistleblower disclosures to the appropriate governmental bodies to benefit Musk or to harm Twitter, but rather to protect the American public and Twitter shareholders.”
Last week, Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro revealed to CNN that Zatko had already been subpoenaed in the case before his whistleblower complaint was made public. Last Wednesday, at a court proceeding related to the case, Spiro repeatedly brought up Zatko.
Spiro made the implication during the hearing that Twitter’s estimate for spam accounts and monetizable daily active users (mDAU), a crucial metric it provides to investors, are not ones the billionaire’s team trusts, and that Musk’s team is looking for information that would enable them to test the measurements.
Additionally scheduled to appear on September 13 before a Senate committee is Zatko.
Source: CNN Business
Anita Zuuri
Annie is an entertainment and lifestyle writer. She enjoys reading and writing about music, celebrities and their lifestyles, food, cars and tech.
These people are still on this Twitter issue?!
Highly doubt Elon is gonna pull through in buying though🤔
I agree with you, Gyimah. I doubt he is going to buy it.
Elon just loves attention
You knowwww.
I follow this man go loose all my crypto
Crypto in itself is a risky thing o, Alphonse.
Last last he pulled out of the deal
Very cunning guy