Twitter’s former top executives – who were fired by Elon Musk on its first day – are suing the billionaire and tech giant for more than $1 million in unpaid legal bills
- Suing former Twitter executives who were immediately fired by Elon Musk on his first day in charge for more than $1 million over unpaid legal fees
- Former chief executive Parag Agrawal, former chief financial officer Ned Segal and former head of legal affairs and policy Vijaya Gadde are plaintiffs in the case
- They spent more than $1 million in personal legal bills related to government investigations, SEC investigations, and shareholder lawsuits
A group of former Twitter executives fired by Elon Musk on his first day are suing the company for more than $1 million over unpaid legal bills.
The lawsuit filed Monday in the Delaware Chancery Court is on behalf of former social media network CEO Parag Agrawal, former chief financial officer Ned Segal and former chief legal and policy officer Vijaya Gadde.
They spent more than $1 million in personal legal bills related to government investigations, including by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations, and shareholder lawsuits.
The trio, who were fired by Musk when he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, earned “significant expenses” related to their former positions.
They claim the company has “refused to acknowledge its obligations and pay invoices.”
Parag Agrawal (pictured) is part of a trio of former Twitter executives who are suing the company for more than $1 million over unpaid legal fees
Former CFO Ned Segal (pictured) was contacted by the Justice Department in 2022 “in connection with certain investigations related to the company,” the lawsuit says
Vijaya Gadde (pictured), former head of legal affairs and policy at Twitter, was forced to pay legal fees in connection with her February testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
The Justice Department contacted counsel for Agrawal and Segal in 2022 “in connection with certain investigations related to the company,” the lawsuit said.
But the nature of the probe and whether it is still active is unknown.
The pair also incurred legal costs responding to SEC inquiries in 2022, the lawsuit states.
The SEC is investigating whether Musk violated securities regulations by failing to disclose in a timely manner when he purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter early last year.
Agrawal and Segal were approached by federal authorities in July while still in their roles at Twitter, and in September the SEC asked Agrawal to retain records.
They are also named with Gadde in a shareholder lawsuit and she was forced to pay legal fees in connection with her February testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
She was subpoenaed to appear before the committee and it centered on Twitter’s decision to briefly censor a New York Post story about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
The lawsuit said Twitter’s corporate bylaws and contracts with former executives require it to pay their legal fees in matters related to the social media company.
And the former executives notified Twitter of the charges incurred more than two months ago, but they have yet to be reimbursed.
Elon Musk fired Agrawal, Segal and Gadde last year ‘for a good reason’, nullifying the large severance pay they expected to receive
Agrawal (left) and Segal (right) made “considerable expenses” related to their former positions
Twitter has been accused of refusing to pay bills to landlords, suppliers and vendors, as well as missing payments, leading to lawsuits
Aaron Zamost, a spokesperson for Segal and Gadde, said: “Twitter has again failed to meet its contractual obligations to pay its bills.”
Musk has aggressively cut costs related to Twitter since he took over, laying off more than 75 percent of his 7,500 employees.
He terminated Agrawal, Segal and Gadde last year “for good reason,” voiding the large severance pay they expected to receive, which would have amounted to nearly $60 million for Agrawal.
It is unknown if the former executives plan to challenge this in court.
Twitter has been accused of refusing to pay bills owed to landlords, suppliers and vendors, as well as missing payments to software services, property management companies and concierge contractors, leading to lawsuits.
Musk told employees in an email last month that he valued Twitter at $20 billion, which is less than half of what he paid for it.