Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and two other former executives sued Twitter Inc. today, saying they were not reimbursed for more than $1 million in fees related to a federal investigation and other legal matters.
The plaintiffs say they were investigated by the SEC and DOJ, among others, for their roles as Twitter executives, and they are seeking “an expedited ruling requiring the defendants to meet their obligations to prepay legal fees and expenses related to the ongoing litigation and investigation. However, Twitter has rejected their request and has not acknowledged its obligations.
Attorneys for the three plaintiffs provided Twitter with an invoice for legal fees “that reasonably demonstrates that the plaintiffs have incurred over $1 million in costs, all of which are required to be paid in advance to the plaintiffs.”
The lawsuit also requires Twitter to prepay all costs incurred by the plaintiff to date. The plaintiffs also seek reimbursement for expenses incurred in suing Twitter for earlier fees and an order “declaring that Plaintiffs are entitled to an advance on any future attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses associated with the litigation.”
Agrawal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and former chief financial officer Ned Segal were among the executives fired by current CEO Elon Musk in October last year. Musk fired the executives “for cause” after acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, possibly to avoid a lucrative severance package.
The plaintiffs also say they are among the defendants in a securities class action lawsuit against Twitter and its executives. In addition, Gadd has incurred additional costs as a result of another civil case and a congressional hearing.
Twitter has not yet responded to the lawsuit. The company still automatically responds to all requests sent to its PR email with a poop emoji. Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the company has been hit with numerous lawsuits from vendors, landlords and consultants, among others, all of whom claim not to have been paid their fair share.
