Musk Appears Unlikely to Undo Twitter Securities Fraud Verdict – Bloomberg Law News

Elon Musk faces an uphill battle in his bid to undo a jury verdict finding he misled Twitter investors during his 2022 purchase of the social media platform by tweeting the $44 billion deal was temporarily “on hold.” Judge Charles R. Breyer at a hearing Thursday in San Francisco federal court said he was unconvinced of Musk’s post-trial motions to toss out the jury’s determination, and he expressed skepticism of Musk’s attempt to wipe out the damages award, which could amount to $2.6 billion. “It is readily apparently to the court that Mr. Musk is liable,” Breyer said at the hearing. “The misrepresentations as charged are false, as the jury found.” The class action securities fraud case centered on Musk’s tweets and public statements amid his contentious, months-long takeover where he criticized the company and cast doubt on whether he would follow through with the purchase. A jury in March took three days of deliberations to determine that Musk intentionally misled Twitter shareholders with a May 13, 2022 tweet stating he was pausing the deal while he reviewed Twitter’s fake account metrics which drove down the share price and caused some investors to sell at a loss. The jury also
Read More