Tesla shareholders will appear in court on Monday to argue that an unprecedented request for more than $7 billion in attorneys’ fees to be paid by the company is “outlandish,” the latest twist in a legal showdown over Musk’s $56 billion pay package.

The record fee request was made by investor Richard Tornetta on behalf of three law firms that represented him, including Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann. Tornetta owned nine shares of Tesla when he sued over Musk’s pay package of stock options in 2018, a legal battle he ultimately won in January when the package was voided.

The fee equals around $7.2 billion at Tesla’s Friday’s stock price and amounts to a rate of roughly $370,000 for every hour worked by the 37 lawyers, associates and paralegals, some of whom normally bill as little as $275 an hour, according to court documents submitted Tornetta’s lawyers.

“The legal fees appear exceedingly disproportionate and outlandish,” Nathan Chiu, a Tesla shareholder from New Jersey, wrote to Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick in March, according to a court filing.

  • @TOModera
    link
    121 month ago

    I don’t disagree, however I never found anyone breaking down the % of shares that Musk owns vs others. So I think it could be that Musk plus his buddies have enough shares to get the votes for the pay package, but only 51%, leaving 49% to be annoyed at the costs.