Judge spanks Musk and "X", refuses to toss lawsuit after employees fail to receive promised bonuses
If Elon Musk had to do it all over again, would he still have shelled out $44 billion to buy that constant migraine he calls "X?" Of course he would. You don't become one of the richest men in the world if you're not an egotistical narcissist who thinks that he has never made a mistake. The latest "X" issue ripped from the headlines revolves around a lawsuit filed by an "X" employee who says that Musk failed to deliver millions of dollars in promised bonuses to employees.
According to The New York Post, US District Court Judge Vince Chhabria said on Friday that he will allow a lawsuit against the company to proceed. The suit was filed by Mark Schobinger, Twitter’s former senior director of compensation; Schobinger left the company in May but not before he filed a lawsuit against "X" accusing the social media firm of breach of contract.
Schobinger's suit claims that senior company officials made verbal promises both before and after Musk acquired Twitter. Employees were told that they would be paid half of their 2022 bonuses as long as they stayed with the company through the first quarter of this year. The payments were never made as Schobinger claims in his suit which was filed on behalf of himself as well as 2,000 current and former "X" employees.
Schobinger's suit claims that senior company officials made verbal promises both before and after Musk acquired Twitter. Employees were told that they would be paid half of their 2022 bonuses as long as they stayed with the company through the first quarter of this year. The payments were never made as Schobinger claims in his suit which was filed on behalf of himself as well as 2,000 current and former "X" employees.
Judge orders that the lawsuit against Twitter over promised but not paid bonuses can continue
The suit seeks $5 million and with Judge Chhabria denying Twitter's request to toss out the case, the judge said that Schobinger's complaint met the requirements for a breach of contract claim under California law. The judge also agreed that Schobinger was covered by a bonus plan. "Once Schobinger did what Twitter asked, Twitter’s offer to pay him a bonus in return became a binding contract under California law," said the judge. "And by allegedly refusing to pay Schobinger his promised bonus, Twitter violated that contract."
Twitter argued that the oral agreement should not be valid and that Texas law should apply. Judge Chharbria said that California law applies to the case and added that "Twitter's contrary arguments all fail."
Musk continues to shoot himself in the foot. After endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory that was posted on "X," major advertisers like Apple, IBM, Disney, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate, and Paramount Global stopped advertising on the platform. This led Musk to tell Disney CEO Bob Iger to "go f–k yourself."
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