Omid Kordestani Sues X Corp Over Unpaid Shares
A notable legal confrontation has emerged as Omid Kordestani, a former board member of Twitter, now rebranded as X, has filed a lawsuit against the company owned by Elon Musk. The lawsuit, lodged on Friday, alleges that Musk has failed to cash out more than $20 million worth of shares that Kordestani is entitled to receive.
Kordestani, who joined Twitter’s board in 2015 and played a crucial role in the company’s sale to Musk in 2022, primarily received his compensation in stock options. Following Musk’s acquisition, Kordestani claims that he has not been compensated for these shares, leading him to take legal action. The lawsuit asserts that X “seeks to reap the benefits of Mr. Kordestani’s seven years of service to Twitter without fulfilling its financial obligations to him.” The case has been filed in the California Superior Court located in San Francisco.
As of now, a representative for X has not provided any immediate comments regarding the lawsuit.
Such a public dispute between a former board member and the company he once helped guide is quite uncommon; typically, boardroom disagreements are resolved discreetly out of the public eye. However, Musk’s controversial acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion has disrupted conventional business practices, resulting in a series of legal challenges related to his management of the deal.
With this lawsuit, Kordestani marks a significant moment as he becomes the highest-ranking former Twitter official to pursue legal action against Musk, though he is not the first. Other prominent figures, including the company’s former chief executive, chief financial officer, and top attorneys, have also filed lawsuits seeking unpaid compensation. Additionally, thousands of former employees have initiated mass arbitration cases, accusing Musk of wrongful termination and failure to pay appropriate severance.
The grievances from former executives revolve around Musk allegedly withholding severance payments that were automatically due upon his acquisition of the company. Following the takeover, Musk implemented drastic layoffs, affecting thousands of employees, and offered limited severance packages. The former employees contend that the severance provided was significantly less than what their employment contracts stipulated.
