Elon Musk's lawyer Spiro blasts sanctions bid in defamation case

By Mike Scarcella April 19 (Reuters) - Elon Musk has slammed a bid for court sanctions against his longtime attorney Alex Spiro calling it a stunt to drum up publicity and salvage unfounded defamation claims against the billionaire entrepreneur. Musk’s Thursday filing came in a case that plaintiff Benjamin Brody had lodged against him in a Texas state court last year. According to the lawsuit, Musk falsely implied in a post on his social media platform X that Brody participated in a right-wing street brawl in Oregon. Musk, who has denied defaming Brody, sat for a virtual deposition in the case last month, with Spiro appearing as his lawyer. New York-based Spiro is not licensed to practice law in Texas, however, and lacked the court’s explicit approval to serve as Musk’s lawyer in the case. Brody’s lawyer Mark Bankston this month asked the Texas court to punish Spiro, a high-profile litigator at law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, by barring him from the case for “unauthorized practice of law” and declaring some facts “admitted” by Musk. Musk and his other Quinn Emanuel lawyers on Thursday denied that Spiro violated any court rules. Musk called the sanctions bid “gamesmanship” that was based on “unfounded accusations and publicity-minded barbs.” Bankston, according to Musk, “descended into school-yard antics like yelling, interrupting the witness, and insulting opposing counsel.” Quinn Emanuel’s filing asked the court to award legal fees to Musk for fighting what it called a “meritless” sanctions request. Bankston, who had himself criticized Spiro’s conduct at the deposition as “astonishingly unprofessional,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Quinn Emanuel on Friday said Spiro and the firm declined to comment. Spiro has long been a top lawyer for Musk, representing him in court cases involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other matters. Musk’s Thursday filing said Spiro had “reasonably” expected that his pending request to appear in the case would be approved, even if the firm “should have been more diligent” about seeking a ruling on the submission. The filing also argued that an “unadmitted attorney” can still participate at a deposition in a Texas case. The case is Benjamin Brody v. Elon Musk, District Court of Travis County, No. D-1-GN-23-006883. For plaintiff: Mark Bankston of Farrar & Ball For defendant: John Bash of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Read more: Musk lawyer Alex Spiro faces sanctions bid in Texas defamation fight Musk questioned in defamation lawsuit over X post about street brawl Elon Musk asks Texas court to bar deposition in defamation lawsuit Grilling Musk: use CEO’s tweets, thin skin against him, trial experts say