Musk wins fight to keep lawyer Alex Spiro in Twitter trial
Elon Musk has won a legal battle to keep his lawyer, Alex Spiro, in a shareholder lawsuit over his 2022 Twitter acquisition. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer rejected plaintiffs' objections, allowing Spiro to serve as both advocate and witness. The lawsuit alleges Musk used misleading social media posts to lower Twitter's stock price. The judge found no harm in Spiro's dual role and stated that jury confusion could be managed.
By Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) -
Elon Musk has persuaded a judge that his longtime lawyer Alex Spiro can represent him in a shareholder lawsuit over the billionaire’s 2022 Twitter acquisition even though he may be a trial witness in the case.
San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in a
ruling on Monday
rejected the plaintiffs’ objections
that allowing
Spiro to act as both advocate and witness would confuse jurors. The shareholders had that
Spiro was “at the epicenter of virtually every important decision” during Musk’s pursuit of Twitter and later efforts to walk away from the deal.
The lawsuit claims Musk used misleading social media posts to drive down Twitter’s stock price to escape his $44 billion deal or negotiate a lower price for the platform, now renamed X. Musk has denied any wrongdoing.
Musk’s lawyers the effort to disqualify Spiro a “Hail Mary” before a January 2026 trial, saying the investors waited too long to object to Spiro’s role.
The judge said Musk gave written consent for Spiro to serve as both attorney and witness and concluded that the plaintiffs failed to show how his dual role would harm them.
Breyer called concerns about jury confusion “generic” and said courts can manage risks with instructions and limits on questioning. He
noted that other witnesses could cover most of the topics plaintiffs identified and questioned whether Spiro’s testimony was “genuinely needed.”
Spiro, with has represented Musk in many cases and counts actor Alec Baldwin and New York Mayor Eric Adams among his other clients.
The case is Giuseppe Pampena v. Elon Musk, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:22-cv-05937-CRB.
For plaintiff: Joseph Cotchett and Mark Molumphy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, and Francis Bottini and Albert Chang of Bottini & Bottini
For defendant: Alex Spiro, Jesse Bernstein, Michael Lifrak and Stephen Broome of Quinn Emanuel
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