Twitter faces lawsuits alleging tens of millions in unpaid bills

The payments are piling up at Twitter, based on a stack of lawsuits alleging the social media is skipping out on lease and different monetary obligations.

Landlords, distributors and different exterior corporations have all filed instances towards Twitter in latest months, state and federal court docket information present. There are not less than 9 lawsuits towards the social media platform, claiming a mixed $14 million in missed funds, based on a Wall Road Journal estimate.

The lawsuits come as CEO Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, tries to minimize bills on the firm, which he has loaded up with debt.

Three of the lawsuits allege that Twitter hasn’t paid lease on places of work it occupies. That features $6.8 million in again funds one landlord alleges Twitter owes on its San Francisco headquarters, the Journal reported.

Twitter dismantled its media relations group and could not be reached for remark Monday. 

Panoply of instances

A lawsuit filed final month in California by advertising and marketing agency Canary accuses Twitter of breaching a contract between each corporations in June 2020. Twitter has a late invoice of $392,239.11, based on the declare. A listening to for the case is scheduled for June. 

“Starting in September 2022, Canary offered items and providers to Twitter and despatched invoices requesting cost for such work, however Twitter has did not pay such invoices,” court docket paperwork state. “Twitter seems to interpret the [contract agreement] as permitting it to pay or not pay Canary invoices when Twitter decides to take action.”

In a separate case filed final month, property administration firm Columbia Reit accuses Twitter of not paying almost $140,000 in lease on one other workplace house it occupies in San Francisco, the lease for which expires in 2024. The homeowners of Twitter’s workplace house in London are additionally suing the corporate for alleged unpaid lease, the Related Press reported. 

Twitter can be being sued by Personal Jet Providers Group for breach of contract on two constitution flights, valued at $197,725. A Twitter government used a non-public jet to fly from New Jersey to California final October, based on the lawsuit. Personal Jet Providers filed the go well with in December in New Hampshire District Courtroom.

Neither Canary nor Personal Jet Providers instantly responded to a request for remark Monday.

Price-cutting at Twitter 

Since Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, took over Twitter, he has carried out a number of cost-cutting measures, together with shedding half of the platform’s workforce, creating a brand new paid subscription characteristic and ending enforcement of guidelines round COVID-19 misinformation. After telling workers in November that the corporate might face chapter, Musk lately stated Twitter is on firmer monetary floor.

“Final 3 months had been extraordinarily powerful, as needed to save Twitter from chapter, whereas fulfilling important Tesla & SpaceX duties,” Musk tweeted earlier this month. “Would not want that ache on anybody. Twitter nonetheless has challenges, however is now trending to interrupt even when we preserve at it.”

Twitter has additionally auctioned off greater than 600 items of used furnishings, electronics, kitchen gear and different in-office home equipment from its headquarters. In December, Musk introduced he would step down as CEO of the corporate when he finds somebody to interchange him — a call that got here after conducting a Twitter ballot. 

“Most likely in direction of the top of this 12 months could be good timing to search out another person to run the corporate,” Musk stated lately, talking on the World Authorities Summit in Dubai. “I feel it must be in a steady place across the finish of this 12 months.”