Advertisers push to move Elon Musk’s X Corp lawsuit out of Wichita Falls in Texas
- Elon Musk's X Corp. sued several advertisers and an advertising federation in a Texas town's federal court, alleging a conspiracy to withhold advertising funds from X (formerly Twitter).
- The defendants, none of whom are based in Texas, have filed a motion to move the lawsuit elsewhere.
- The defendants propose moving the trial to New York or, alternatively, Dallas.
Some companies Elon Musk is suing object to his choice of Wichita Falls, Texas for a legal battleground, citing complaints about traveling there and other issues, court records show. New York or Dallas seems better to them.
Multi-billionaire Musk put the Texas city's name on the world stage when his X Corp filed a federal lawsuit there against several big advertisers and an international advertising federation in U.S. District Court.
Musk's X Corp. picked the town for a court showdown in August last year, long before his controversial former role as the tip of the spear for President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas federal court and alleged the named companies conspired to withhold billions of dollars in advertising money from Musk’s social media outlet, “X,” which was formerly known as Twitter.
Now the World Federation of Advertisers and seven advertisers named in the lawsuit want it moved out of Wichita Falls.
In a motion filed June 13, lawyers for the companies argued the case has no connection to the Northern District of Texas federal court where it was filed.
The document said none of the defendants has a principal place of business in Texas, and none of the events at issue occurred here. The motion argues all the events at issue occurred in New York, and most of the defendants live there or in Europe.
The motion also contends no relevant witnesses are located within 100 miles of Wichita Falls, and there are no nonstop flights to Wichita Falls except from Dallas, “which would require more than 100 miles of transit by car.”
Motions filed on behalf of the advertisers ask that the case be moved to New York as a first choice or Dallas as a second choice.
The companies asking that the trial be moved are Marrs, Nestle, CVS, Abbott, Colgate-Palmolive, Lego and Pinterest. Three others named in the suit that did not request a move are Orsted, Shell and Tyson.
Motions in the case are being heard by federal district Judge Jane Boyle Reed O’Conner of Dallas after U.S. Judge Reed O’Conner of Fort Worth recused himself from the case.
Legal motions continue to be filed in the case, including the latest on June 20, but no trial date has been set for the case.
Wichita Falls is in North Texas, about 15 miles from the Red River, has an Air Force base, institutions of higher education, and an estimated population of about 100,000 residents.