A Delaware court judge has denied Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s bid to reinstate his pay package, now valued at $100 billion. However, the lawyers who successfully argued that Musk’s pay was illegal and should be rescinded are awarded a significantly lower amount of $5.6 billion in their initial request.
Instead, the judge granted the plaintiffs attorneys from three law firms $345 million in cash or Tesla shares. The three firms involved include Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP, Andrews & Springer LLC, and Friedman Oster & Tejtel PLLC.
The lawyers argued that their efforts resulted in a substantial recovery of $55.8 billion, but the judge noted that applying a percentage of this value to determine their fees was “eye-popping.” The final award represents a 25.3 multiplier of the hours the lawyers worked and is seen as a significant victory for the plaintiffs.
In a statement, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman expressed satisfaction with the ruling and the attorney fee resolution. They acknowledged that the judge’s decision would bring an end to the matter for Tesla shareholders but vowed to defend the court’s opinions if the defendants choose to appeal.
Source: https://fortune.com/2024/12/04/lawyers-tesla-elon-musk-payout-stock