Despite the billionaire’s apparent U-turn, the judge presiding over Twitter’s legal effort to hold Elon Musk to his $44 billion purchase bargain declared on Wednesday that the case was still on course for trial.
The trial is scheduled to begin on October 17, according to Judge Kathaleen McCormick’s decision. Neither Twitter nor Musk have asked the court to postpone the matter, so “I, therefore, continue to press on toward our trial.”
Motions by Twitter to obtain communications, documents, or depositions that might be utilized as trial evidence in Delaware’s Chancery Court were heard by McCormick.
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According to McCormick’s judgement, Musk’s side “likely” allowed certain Slack discussions about the takeover agreement and failed to give Twitter copies of every message he exchanged about it.
“If Defendants deleted documents after they were under a duty to preserve, some remedy is appropriate, but the appropriate remedy is unclear to me at this stage,” McCormick said in her ruling.
She added that she will reserve judgement on the matter until after the trial, when she has “a fuller understanding of the record.”
Musk on Tuesday offered to push through with his buyout of Twitter at the original agreed price, as the trial over his efforts to withdraw from the deal loomed.
The Tesla founder said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he sent Twitter a letter vowing to honor the contract.
Conditions of his offer included halting the litigation, but McCormick made it clear she had received no such request.
Given that Musk has already tried to walk away from the deal once, the judge is expected to seek assurances that he will keep to his word this time around.
