In a lawsuit in which the social media giant is trying to force Musk to complete his $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,59,600 crore) acquisition of Twitter, a Delaware judge is hearing arguments over exchange of information by lawyers.
The hearing for Tuesday will take place three weeks before a scheduled trial in the case.
Musk, the world''s richest man, agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private, offering $54.20 (nearly Rs. 4400) a share, vowing to loosen the company''s content management and to eradicate fake accounts. In July, Musk indicated that he wanted to withdraw from the deal, alleging that Twitter had failed to provide him enough information about the number of fake accounts on its platform.
For the second time, Musk''s attorneys want to provide information regarding a severance agreement and a $7.75 million (nearly Rs. 63 crore) payment to former employees. Musk''s attorneys want to make a claim that Twitter required his consent before paying the payment. However, they did not.
Zatko is a cybersecurity expert who was the head of Twitter until he was fired early this year. In July, he filed a whistleblower complaint with the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The complaint outlines a slew of allegations against Twitter, including that CEO Parag Agrawal and other senior executives and board members have made false and misleading statements about Twitter''s cybersecurity, privacy, and integrity.
Twitter officials argue that the inclusion of information about Zatko''s retirement should be influenced by Musk''s attorneys providing evidence of all communications since December among Musk, his advisers and co-investors.
The judge will hear arguments on several other investigations between Musk and Twitter about discovery or the exchange of information. These include Musk lawyers'' efforts to obtain more information from a sampling of about 9,000 Twitter accounts in the fourth quarter of 2021, and claims that Twitter is incorrectly withholding information regarding user metrics.
Attorneys for Twitter are urging the judge to sanction Musk attorneys for failing to produce responsive phone messages and to order them to comply with a previous discovery order.