Gerry Palmers Tech 07.29.2022 22:Jul PM EDT

Twitter vs Elon Musk Trial to Begin on October 17

Twitter now has a scheduled date for its trial against Elon Musk, over his backing out from his $44 billion purchase bid.

Musk Trial Set for October 17 Until October 21

Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick has set the trial for October 17, The Verge reported, and the trial will last for the prescribed five days, until October 21.

Twitter previously sought a four-day trial in September. The social media company's shareholder vote on the takeover is set for September 13th. Musk's lawyers had attempted to move the court date to February 2023, saying that they needed more time to gather and analyze data on Twitter's fake accounts and bots.

The social networking giant sued the Tesla and SpaceX CEO for pulling out of a deal he first proposed in April to buy Twitter for about $44 billion at $54.20 per share.

Judge McCormiick advised Twitter's and Musk's attorneys of a number of deadlines in preparation for the trial. This includes compelling Twitter and Musk to serve initial discovery requests to third parties by Aug. 1, and must submit depositions by Sept. 29.

The judge also underscored in a filing late Thursday that "discovery should not be requested or withheld in an effort to un unreasonable demands on or extract unreasonable benefits from the opposing party."

Twitter's attorneys had earlier expressed concern over Musk's voluminous requests for information in filings to the court, pointing out that the centibillionaire once considered starting a rival service.

In March, Musk wrote this in a series of tweets: "Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done? Is a new platform needed?"

Musk, via his attorneys, has repeatedly accused Twitter of "resisting and thwarting" his right to information about the number of bot and spam accounts on the platform.

Musk Countersues Twitter in Confidential Filing

Meanwhile, Musk countersued Twitter on Friday, bringing his legal fight against the social media firm up a notch over his bid to walk away from the $44 billion acquisition bid, although the new case was filed confidentially.

While the 164-page document was not available to the public, a redacted version could be made public soon, court rules say.

Musk's lawsuit was filed hours after Judge McCormick of ordered the trial date to start hearings to find out if Musk can abandonthe deal.

For its part, Twitter said it does not object to the Oct. 17 a trialstart date to deliberate on Musk's attempt to back out from his $44 billion acquisition deal but the social media company sought commitment to complete the trial in five days, which was granted.

Musk said he needed more time to investigate more thoroughlywhat he claims Twitter's misrepresentation of fake accounts and bots, which he said violated terms of their deal.