A US judge has ordered Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon Musk to go to trial in October, a blow to the world’s richest man who had asked for a stay.
Mr Musk dropped his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter in early July, prompting the company to sue him.
Twitter hopes the court will order Mr Musk to complete the acquisition at the agreed price of $54.20 per share.
The tech billionaire has accused Twitter of withholding information about fake accounts.
His legal team has called for the trial to be held early next year because of its complexity, but Twitter asked for a September date.
On Tuesday, a Delaware state judge agreed with the company, saying delaying the trial would raise a “cloud of uncertainty.”
“Delay risks irreparable damage,” said Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick. “The longer the delay, the greater the risk.”
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The lawsuit accused Mr Musk of a “long list” of violations prior to the potential merger and argued that he had “defamed” the company.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Twitter’s lead attorney, William Savitt, said the ongoing uncertainty over whether or not the acquisition would go ahead “damages Twitter every day.”
“Musk was and is contractually obligated to use his best efforts to complete the deal,” Mr. Savitt said. “What he’s doing is exactly the opposite. It’s sabotage.”
An attorney for Mr Musk, Andrew Rossman, argued that he remains one of Twitter’s most significant shareholders. He said the case should go to trial next year on a “reasonable” timeline that would give both sides time to prepare.
Since Mr. Musk began questioning the number of fake and spam accounts on the Twitter platform in May, the company has seen its share prices plummet from highs of $50 per share.
The company’s shares are currently around $39.45 — well below the $54.20 per share at which it hopes to complete the merger.
A self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” Mr. Musk has promised to ease restrictions on content once he owns the company.
He also urged the company to be more open about how it presents tweets to users and how tweets are promoted to a larger audience.
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