Twitter's ex-CEO cites DOJ probe in lawsuit seeking unpaid legal bills
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawa in Sun Valley, Idaho, last July. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Twitter's ex-CEO Parag Agrawal and two other former executives accused the social media company in a lawsuit Monday of failing to reimburse them for more than $1 million in legal expenses.
Driving the news: Agrawal, former Twitter chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and ex-chief financial officer Ned Segal, who were fired after Elon Musk took over the platform allege the company "refused to acknowledge its obligations and to remit payment of any invoices," per the filing.
- This includes for counsel the executives said they used while at Twitter to respond to investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the suit, filed in the Delaware Chancery Court.
- "This action seeks an expedited ruling requiring Defendant to comply with its obligations to advance legal fees and expenses relating to ongoing litigation and investigations," the filing states.
The intrigue: It was not immediately clear what the federal investigations were in relation to and the DOJ and SEC did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
- But the SEC has been investigating Musk's April 2022 disclosure of an ownership stake in Twitter, which came ahead of his agreement to buy the company.
The big picture: The executives' lawsuit adds to the legal headaches for Twitter since Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition last October of the company, which is being sued by former employees over their terminations following the takeover.
- The Federal Trade Commission has asked Twitter for information about the layoffs. The FTC is also looking into the company's privacy practices, according to the New York Times, which obtained Monday's suit.
- Representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Flashback: The DOJ assisted the FTC in a case last May before Musk took over the platform in which Twitter agreed to pay $150 million for using users' security data to target ads.
Worth noting: Gadde was one of several former Twitter executives to testify before Congress in February about content moderation on the platform.
