Twitter’s ex-CEO sues company after legal turmoil

Former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, are suing the social media company over legal fees incurred in a recent storm of legal battles.

Agrawal is joined in the suit by the company's former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and former chief financial officer Ned Segal. They allege they have spent more than $1m out of pocket on legal fees related to shareholder lawsuits and government investigations.

"Plaintiffs have incurred significant expenses, including but not limited to attorneys' fees and costs, in connection with several proceedings in which plaintiffs are involved by virtue of their former roles as officers of Twitter, and plaintiffs accordingly are entitled to advancement of those fees and costs," the lawsuit said.

All three executives were terminated from the company when billionaire Elon Musk took over in October 2022 and implemented a chaotic flurry of cost-saving measures, cutting the staff from 7,500 to about 2,000 employees as of December.

The suit, filed in Delaware chancery court, cites legal expenses related to a 2022 inquiry by the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) for which Agrawal and Segal provided testimony.

Gadde was named as a defendant alongside Twitter in a 2021 lawsuit in which a user alleged he was "doxed" on the social media app as a white supremacist. She also had to testify before the US Congress in a hearing on free speech, which came after Musk released the "Twitter Files", internal documents calling attention to the site's previous content moderation policies.

The filing also revealed that Twitter is facing an inquiry by the US Department of Justice. It's unclear what the department is investigating, and whether the inquiry is still under way. The justice department did not respond to a request for comment.

Twitter, which has largely dissolved its PR department, also did not respond.

The lawsuit is just the latest facing Musk's Twitter, after the billionaire bought the company for $44bn in 2022. It is being sued by at least six companies for billing disputes, including unpaid rent at multiple Twitter properties.

The legal woes come as the business continues to spiral, with a leaked memo from Musk last month revealing Twitter is worth less than half of what he paid for it just six months ago. Large advertisers have fled the platform amid concerns about hate speech and poor content moderation, and investment firm Fidelity - a major source of funds for Musk's purchase of the company - has written down the value of its stake by 56%.