X filing "thermonuclear lawsuit" in Texas should be "fatal," Media Matters says [View all]

[DBoon]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/elon-musks-x-scrambles-to-keep-court-case-against-media-matters-in-texas/

Ever since Elon Musk's X Corp sued Media Matters for America (MMFA) over a pair of reports that X (formerly Twitter) claims caused an advertiser exodus in 2023, one big question has remained for onlookers: Why is this fight happening in Texas?

In a motion to dismiss filed in Texas' northern district last month, MMFA argued that X's lawsuit should be dismissed not just because of a "fatal jurisdictional defect," but "dismissal is also required for lack of venue."

Notably, MMFA is based in Washington, DC, while "X is organized under Nevada law and maintains its principal place of business in San Francisco, California, where its own terms of service require users of its platform to litigate any disputes."

"Texas is not a fair or reasonable forum for this lawsuit," MMFA argued, suggesting that "the case must be dismissed or transferred" because "neither the parties nor the cause of action has any connection to Texas."

Once again a completely meritless case is filed in the 5th circuit. Musk is attempting to use litigation to silence his critics.