Consultant in Musk litigation sues Twitter for $2.2 mln in fees

(Reuters) - Consulting firm Analysis Group Inc has sued Twitter Inc in U.S. court, claiming the social media platform has failed to pay $2.2 million for services provided to lawyers representing the company as it took Elon Musk to court last year to hold him to his $44 billion bid to buy the company.

Boston-based Analysis Group said in a complaint in Massachusetts federal court on Thursday evening that Twitter hired the consultancy to provide support for three law firms that represented the platform in its case against Musk in Delaware Chancery Court.

Twitter separately faces other suits over claims of unpaid bills, and the new case will add to mounting legal woes. U.S.-based advisory firm Innisfree M&A Incorporated sued Twitter last week in New York State Supreme Court, seeking nearly $2 million.

"Twitter is engaged in a pattern of failing to honor its contractual obligations to pay its service providers," Analysis Group's lawsuit said.

Twitter on Friday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A lawyer for the company had not yet appeared in the case.

A spokesperson for Analysis Group on Friday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

In July, Twitter sued Musk in Delaware to force him to complete the purchase. Musk had said he was terminating the deal over claims that Twitter had not responded to certain information requests, including details about fake or bot accounts.

Analysis Group said it provided "analytical services in support of expert opinions, as well as economic consulting assistance." The company said it worked with Twitter's law firms including Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Twitter paid bills up until Musk took over in October as the platform's chief executive officer, according to the complaint. Some leading advertisers cut their spend on Twitter after Musk's takeover.

Analysis Group's lawsuit said the 1,200-employee consultancy at the direction of Twitter's law firms "assembled multiple teams of professionals to support a number of testifying experts' opinions that advanced Twitter's interest in the Musk litigation."

The Delaware litigation was paused on Oct. 6 to allow Musk to close his Twitter deal by Oct. 28, and it was later dismissed.

The case is Analysis Group Inc v Twitter Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, No. 1:23-cv-10312.

For Analysis Group: David Mack and Amanda Hobson of O'Connor Carnathan and Mack

For Twitter: No appearance yet

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