politics
Judge Rejects Musk's Bid to Overturn Twitter Fraud Verdict but Dismisses One Tweet Claim
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer rejected Elon Musk's motion to set aside a March jury verdict finding him liable for securities fraud in the 2022 Twitter acquisition. The ruling upheld liability tied to a May 13, 2022 tweet but rejected it for a May 17 tweet. Damages could total up to $2.6 billion.
Washington ExaminerAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer denied Elon Musk's motion to set aside a March jury verdict finding him liable for securities fraud in his 2022 Twitter acquisition, Washington Examiner reported. Breyer ruled Monday that Musk's May 13, 2022 tweet stating his deal was temporarily on hold pending confirmation that bot accounts represented less than 5 percent of users deflated Twitter's stock price.
Breyer struck down a separate claim that Musk's May 17, 2022 tweet asserting the bot ratio could be much higher also deflated the stock price. He found substantial evidence of falsity in the May 13 claim, noting that Musk had waived due diligence and agreed to buy Twitter without an extensive audit. “Buyer’s remorse is not an exception to the securities laws,” Breyer wrote.
Plaintiffs who sold Twitter stock between May 13 and October 4, 2022 argued that Musk used the bot issue as a pretext to renegotiate or escape the deal. Breyer rejected Musk's lawyers' claim that the jury was prejudiced because it wrote “$4.20” in blue ink on a legal document while using black ink for other values.
He granted plaintiffs' motion for prejudgment interest and denied Musk's motion to decertify the investor class.
A lawyer for the shareholders estimated in March that Musk could face up to $2.5 billion in damages. Reuters reported that damages could total $2.6 billion following the ruling. Musk has not exhausted his appeal options.
