Judge grants Musk request to stay trial despite Twitter’s objection

A Delaware judge on Thursday granted Elon Musk’s request to stay an upcoming trial with Twitter, giving him until Oct. 28 to close a $44 billion merger deal with the company.

Kathaleen McCormick, the head of the Delaware Chancery Court, ruled that if the merger agreement is not closed by Oct. 28, she would issue a notice of a trial date in November.

On Thursday, Musk’s attorneys filed a motion for a stay on the upcoming trial, saying it was now an “enormous waste of party and judicial resources” since he says he will go through with his agreement to purchase the company.

Twitter’s attorneys also filed on Thursday opposing Musk’s motion, arguing he has not agreed to a closing date and the company is “entitled to its day in court.”

The attorneys said Musk has “pursued increasingly implausible claims” and has long sought to delay the trial.

“Now, on the eve of trial, Defendants declare they intend to close after all. ‘Trust us,’ they say, ‘we mean it this time,’ and so they ask to be relieved from a reckoning on the merits,” the court filing reads. “Defendants’ proposal is an invitation to further mischief and delay.”

Musk announced this week that he would close on the $44 billion agreement to purchase Twitter, a deal he announced over the spring before he reversed his decision in July amid concerns about how many spam bots are on the social media platform.

Twitter sued in Delaware Chancery Court to force Musk to complete the merger agreement, and the five-day trial was set to begin on Oct. 17.

Twitter has said it still wants to close on the deal for $54.20 per share, but raised concerns about the renewed proposal.

Attorneys said Musk has proposed an “indefinite time to close,” and cited testimony from a representative for a leading bank who indicated Musk has not issued a borrowing notice or any other communication that would show he was serious about purchasing Twitter.