Monday, December 23, 2024
HomeFinanceTesla shareholders lawyer demand $5.6 billion legal fees in Elon Musk Delaware...

Tesla shareholders lawyer demand $5.6 billion legal fees in Elon Musk Delaware case



The lawyers who successfully argued that a massive pay package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk was illegal and should be voided have asked the presiding judge to award them company stock worth $5.6 billion as legal fees.

The attorneys, who represented Tesla shareholders in the case decided in January, made the request of the Delaware judge in court papers filed Friday.

The amount would apparently be far and away the largest such award, if approved. Lawyers in class-action suits stemming from the collapse of Enron got aย record $688 million in legal fees in 2008.

โ€œWe are โ€˜prepared to eat our cooking,โ€™โ€ the Tesla plaintiff attorneys wrote in the court filing, arguing the sum is justified because they worked purely on a contingency basis for more than 5 years. If they lost they would have gotten nothing. The benefit to Tesla โ€œwas massive,โ€ they said.

The requested award represents 11% of the Tesla stock โ€” worth some $55 billion โ€” that Musk was seeking in the compensation package, which Judge Kathaleen St.ย Jude McCormick ruled illegal in January.

Not only does the request take nothing from the electric car companyโ€™s balance sheet, it is also tax deductible, the attorneys argued. They are also seeking $1.1 million in expenses.

In her ruling, Judge McCormick accepted the shareholder lawyersโ€™ argument that Musk personally dictated the landmark 2018 pay package inย sham negotiationsย with directors who were not independent.

It would have nearly doubled Muskโ€™s stake in Tesla. He currently holds 13%.

Subscribe to CHRO Daily, our newsletter focusing on helping HR executive navigate the changing needs of the workplace. Sign up for free.



Source link

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Recent Comments

Translate ยป