Twitter is being sued by unpaid experts hired to fight against Elon Musk, but the latter does not want to pay them.

Last Thursday, Charles River Associates filed a lawsuit against Twitter in Massachusetts state court. Court documents show that as part of Musk’s lawsuit, Twitter’s legal team asked the CRA to provide Twitter with expert consulting services. The companies reached an agreement in August 2022, and the CRA began preliminary work on the documents, according to court filings. Twitter’s lawsuit against Musk was put on hold after he bought it, but the CRA is now trying to recover money it says it’s still owed.

Charles River Associates says it was hired by Twitter shortly after Twitter sued Musk for refusing to complete a $44 billion merger deal. Musk finally bought out in late October after it became clear he would lose in court. From August 15 to October 27, 2022, the CRA provided all business and expert advisory services requested by Twitter and its legal counsel in connection with the Musk lawsuit and pursuant to the terms of the agreement, according to the complaint filed in the US last week. Head of Suffolk County, Boston, Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleges that Twitter breached the agreement by failing to pay all of CRA’s bills totaling $2.19 million.

The CRA is seeking the full amount of the invoices and double or triple damages for Twitter’s willful and fraudulent breach of the Advisory Agreement, plus interest, costs and legal fees. The CRA said that Twitter also did not follow the agreed procedure for challenging the bills. Any objection to CRA’s invoices must be made in writing by Twitter within five (5) business days of Customer’s receipt of the disputed invoice, subject to the terms of the Agreement. Twitter has never submitted data to the CRA. Objection to CRA bills, the suit says.

The complaint alleges that the CRA and its lead counsel, Professor Mark Zmijewski, were engaged by Twitter to provide economic consulting services in connection with a planned expert rebuttal report and expert rebuttal testimony by Professor Zmijewski, who was to rebut the expert report and one testimony. Musk parties expert Yvette Austin Smith. According to the lawsuit, the CRA’s work included research and analysis that formed the basis of expert opinions to be included in the expert’s rebuttal report, drafting reports and other expert advice and litigation support under the direction of Twitter’s legal counsel.

The complaint describes Musk’s attempts to get paid for the CRA’s work after he reluctantly completed the Twitter purchase instead of continuing to fight the lawsuit. The CRA said Musk did not respond to a series of messages it sent about unpaid bills in the month after the purchase. The CRA’s lawsuit is one of several that Musk-owned Twitter refused to pay for services it provided before it bought the company.

After Elon Musk came to power, lawsuits against the social network have increased

After buying Twitter, the billionaire cut costs. He cut half the workforce and withheld rent from the company’s San Francisco headquarters and other offices around the world. Twitter has been sued for failing to pay $136,250 in rent for its San Francisco offices. The landlord, Columbia Reit – 650 California LLC, notified Twitter on Dec. 16 that it would not be able to rent the 30th floor of the Hartford building for five days if rent was not paid. Columbia Reit said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in San Francisco state court that the tenant did not comply. Twitter hasn’t paid rent for its headquarters or other global offices for weeks. The moves come as Musk faces the first payment on the $12.5 billion in debt he took on to acquire Twitter.

Twitter has failed to pay a $1,092,000 bill on a software contract that expires in 2024, the complaint says, and the Elon Musk-led company apparently won’t pay the supplier $7 million in additional payments. Imply Data, Inc. sued Twitter in California Superior Court, San Francisco, alleging breach of contract.

Imply Data Inc. says that after paying bills totaling about $4.4 million under a custom software services agreement that runs through 2024, Twitter defaulted on its Nov. 30 quarterly invoice and reneged on its commitment to pay future bills. San Francisco County Court. He estimated the damages at more than 8 million dollars. Imply, a company founded in 2015 and based in Burlingame, California, said its lawsuit is a clear example of Twitter’s refusal to pay what it owes other companies without reason.

In the complaint, Imply said Twitter paid the software company more than $10 million in four years before Musk’s arrival and was always satisfied with Imply’s product and its technical and support services. In the middle of 2021, a decision was made to extend the contract for another three years.

In December, Twitter was sued by Musk for failing to pay for private jets for flights taken by former executives before the purchase. The complaint comes as Musk faces a stock fraud lawsuit over an August 2018 tweet in which he said he was raising funds to take Tesla private. A shareholder group says its announcement rattled markets and cost investors millions of dollars.

Source: Complaint

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