Afederal judge has ruled against Elon Musk’s attempt to avoid severance payments to former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, who was fired in Musk’s 2022 takeover of the social media platform. The ruling cleared the way for Agrawal and others to pursue their claims for compensation, alleging Musk deliberately terminated them to avoid contractual payouts.

The case, filed in March, hinges on the timing of Musk’s move to fire Agrawal, along with former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde, Ned Segal, and Sean Edgett. According to court filings, the executives argue that Musk’s decision to terminate them immediately after the acquisition was aimed at denying them substantial severance payments. In his biography, Musk reportedly told writer Walter Isaacson he was keen to complete the deal quickly to avoid a “$200 million differential in the cookie jar between closing tonight and doing it tomorrow morning.”

This case adds to the growing list of legal disputes Musk faces concerning employee compensation following his acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X Corp. Musk’s aggressive restructuring of the company included the dismissal of thousands of employees, some of whom have filed claims for unpaid severance. They argue that Musk failed to honour compensation agreements established before the acquisition.

While Musk and X Corp. won a $500 million class-action lawsuit in July from former Twitter employees seeking severance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, other cases have tilted in employees’ favour. In September, a private arbitration session awarded severance to a former staff member, potentially setting a precedent for others pursuing similar claims.

The recent ruling by US District Judge Maxine Chesney also blocked Musk’s attempt to dismiss a related claim by former “core tech” general manager Nicholas Caldwell. Caldwell, who claims he was denied his severance, is seeking $20 million for lost compensation.