Elon Musk loses first legal battle with Twitter.
An early win for Twitter. A judge on Tuesday ruled that the company’s lawsuit against Elon Musk over their $44 billion buyout deal must go to a five-day trial in October.
The decision came at the end of the first hearing of the case whether to speed up the procedure.
When it filed the lawsuit last week, days after Musk moved to end the deal, Twitter ( TWTR ) filed a motion to expedite the proceedings and asked for a four-day trial in September.
Musk’s legal team opposed the motion. Twitter’s lead counsel, William Savitt, came out against Musk early in the hearing as he argued in favor of a speedy trial.
Savitt said the ongoing uncertainty hanging over the company from the pending deal and litigation “takes a toll on Twitter every day, every hour and every minute.”
He also pointed to what he described as Musk’s continued disdain for Twitter, including its own platform.
In the meantime, Twitter continues to take the necessary steps to proceed with the acquisition.
The company on Friday sent a letter to shareholders inviting them to vote on the deal to sell the social network to Musk, where a share will cost $54.20.
Twitter’s board previously unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the deal, a position it reiterated in the letter.
