A new and much smaller Twitter wants the $90 million the prior owners paid to their lawyers for a job well done. Musk's lawsuit alleges that doing exactly what was in Twitter's shareholders and board of directors' best interests, i.e., forcing the sale to Elon Musk for far more than Twitter was worth, was somehow not doing their job well, but that is the gist of his lawsuit.
How desperate does one have to be to waste resources on this? It has always appeared that Musk enjoys spending time with lawyers, and in court, intentionally putting himself into positions where a lawsuit is coming. This move only makes sense as the temper tantrum of a person looking to salve a bruised ego.
According to documents submitted with Friday's lawsuit, Twitter's board and executives approved the $90 million payment because Wachtell Lipton and one of its lawyers, William Savitt, had succeeded in making Mr. Musk abide by his agreement to buy the company.
By approving the payment, Twitter's former executives and board breached their fiduciary duty, the lawsuit said. Twitter's board rushed to close the deal with Mr. Musk and did not act "prudently" or "on an informed basis," the lawsuit said.
Wachtell Lipton was wired the bulk of the $90 million fee a mere 10 minutes before the deal closed in October, the lawsuit said. Within minutes of Wachtell Lipton's receiving that transfer, Mr. Musk fired some of Twitter's top executives, including its chief legal officer and general counsel, according to the suit.
