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Twitter’s new management, under multibillionaire Elon Musk, has refused to pay a Seabrook-based Private Jet Services for corporate jet services booked under his predecessor, according to a suit filed Dec. 9 in federal district court in Concord.
The two cross-country flights shuttled former chief marketing officer Leslie Berland on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27, just as Musk was preparing to close his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company.
Musk assumed control of Twitter on Oct. 27 and fired Berland in early November, along with half of the company’s workforce.
According to an email from Taylor DeLorenzo, the executive assistant to Musk’s predecessor, Arag Agrawal, Agrawal “did sign off on this expense. It was an urgent need the week the deal closed, and Leslie was the main person from Twitter liaising directly with Elon,” according to the complaint.
DeLorenzo, who booked the first flight, was trying to provide “additional context” to Marty O’Neil, head of global strategic sourcing, after O’Neil told PJS that it was not liable to pay the bill because only designated representatives were allowed to book such flight, according to a blanket purchase agreement reached in June of 2020, the complaint charges. But DeLorenzo notes she “had been approving all of the PJS transactions prior to this one – all of which Twitter paid with no issue or mention of the below requirements.”
“Thanks Taylor, appreciate the added context. However, new management is not going to budge,” O’Neil allegedly wrote back, according to the complaint. “And while yes you had been requesting, it doesn’t change the terms agreed to in the agreement. If anything, legally we shouldn’t have paid for them when you made those requests … I know you’re looking for a resolution but can’t emphasize enough that new management wants to hold firm on this.”
The suit, filed by Timothy McLaughlin, an attorney at the law firm of Shaheen and Gordon, charges Twitter with breach of contract, breach of quasi contract and calls for unspecified damages and attorney fees. McLaughlin did not respond to inquiries, and an attempt to reach Twitter for was not successful — Musk eliminated the firm’s communications department after taking over the company. On Monday, Twitter was issued a summons. Its attorneys have not yet made an appearance.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
