HardwareElon Musk’s X changes its terms of service to steer user lawsuits towards a Texas court instead of California. Which is fine. Just happens to be a completely different Texas court district to where X is actually headquarteredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareElon Musk’s X changes its terms of service to steer user lawsuits towards a Texas court instead of California. Which is fine. Just happens to be a completely different Texas court district to where X is actually headquarteredWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
X, formerly known (and still colloquially referred to) as Twitter, has recentlymoved its headquartersfrom San Francisco to Texas. This mirrors a 2021 move from California to Texas for one of Elon Musk’s other companies, Tesla, and has since resulted in Musk appearing in public in many different cowboy hats.
Now X has updated itsterms of serviceto push disputes aimed towards the company to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas (viaArs Technica). This has been seen as an unusual move, as while it’s not uncommon for companies to pick a preferred forum for legal disputes, X is located in Texas' Western District.
According to The Guardian, the Western District has far fewer Republican-appointed judges than the Northern District, and as such has become a “favored destination” for conservative activists and business groups.
Media Matters argued that Tesla should be disclosed as an “interested party” in the case because of Musk’s association with the company.O’Conner ruled that (PDF warning):
“Defendants failed to show facts that X’s alleged connection to Tesla meets this [financial interest] standard. Instead, it appears Defendants seek to force a backdoor recusal through their Motion to Compel. Gamesmanship of this sort is inappropriate and contrary to the rules of the Northern District of Texas.”
Still, there’s no guarantee that cases against X will end up in front of O’Conner. As Georgetown Law Professor Steve Vladeck confirmed on the platform:“I don’t read these terms to mean that every case will end up before Judge O’Connor, specifically. The only place in the Northern District where you’re guaranteed to draw O’Connor is Wichita Falls. Elsewhere in the district, you could draw other judges.”
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Just to be clear, I don’t read these terms to mean that every case will end up before Judge O’Connor, specifically. The only place in the Northern District where you’re guaranteed to draw O’Connor is Wichita Falls. Elsewhere in the district, you could draw other judges.October 17, 2024
Just to be clear, I don’t read these terms to mean that every case will end up before Judge O’Connor, specifically. The only place in the Northern District where you’re guaranteed to draw O’Connor is Wichita Falls. Elsewhere in the district, you could draw other judges.October 17, 2024
As for the legal legitimacy of steering disgruntled users towards a specific location for legal action, it appears there’s plenty of precedent for doing so, with little potential recourse. Speaking to Ars Technica, Vanderbilt Law School Professor Brian Fitzpatrick said:
“If the forum has no connection to either party and there is no other good faith reason for picking the forum, there might be an argument the terms are unconscionable…likewise, if you are poor and the dispute small, there might be an argument that it is unconscionable to make you travel to Texas to sue. But… my understanding is that unconscionability is still a very disfavored doctrine.”
Musk has increasingly become involved in conservative causes in recent years,appearing at Trump ralliesand becoming amajor financial supporter of the Trump campaignin the runup to the November 5 presidential election.
Judge Reed O’Conner was an appointee of the Bush administration, and in recent years has blocked Biden administration policies ongun control,LGBTQ+ rights, and theAffordable Care Act.
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