Twitter (X) Settles $500 Million Suit Brought by Fired Workers
We recently had cause to note that “canceling” contracts is breaching contracts. Twitter (X) was unsuccessful in its motion to dismiss Don Lemon’s breach of contract claims. The company also was ordered to pay $8 million in unpaid rent on an office lease. And now, the company has also settled a class action brought by terminated employees who were seeking $500 million in damages.
According to Jacklyn Wille, writing for Bloomberg Law, the parties agreed to settle matters one month before the case was due to be argued before the Ninth Circuit. The joint announcement of a “settlement agreement in principle” is here. We are not home yet. The settlement negotiations will have to result in terms to which all parties agree, and it will have to be approved by the District Court.
As Jacklyn Wille reports, meanwhile, the cases of Twitter’s top executives are proceeding through discovery. The settlement here comes notwithstanding a the District Court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ ERISA claims. It seems that plaintiffs had a good shot at winning reversal of that decision in the 9th Circuit, as the Department of Labor filed an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs’ position.