On Monday, Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick reassigned several lawsuits involving Elon Musk after lawyers for the Tesla CEO accused her of bias stemming from a LinkedIn post that appeared to mock Musk [1]. Musk's legal team cited McCormick's alleged use of a 'support' emoji on a LinkedIn post celebrating his loss in a separate California case related to his $44 billion Twitter purchase, where he was found liable for misleading investors with tweets in 2022 [1]. Additionally, they noted that one of McCormick's staff members liked another anti-Musk post concerning his pending litigation [1].
Despite the reassignment, McCormick denied any bias, stating, 'The motion for recusal rests on a false premise—that I support a LinkedIn post about Mr. Musk, which I do not in fact support,' and emphasized her impartiality by referencing her dismissal of a suit against Musk the previous year [1]. She also clarified, 'I either did not click the ‘support’ icon at all, or I did so accidentally,' and later deactivated her LinkedIn account [1].
The lawsuits will now be overseen by three other judges, with McCormick noting that the disproportionate media attention surrounding her handling of the cases would be detrimental to the administration of justice [1]. She expressed confidence in the Vice Chancellors' abilities to adjudicate these matters [1].
In a related case, McCormick voided a multibillion-dollar pay package for Musk and the Tesla board in 2024, citing breaches of fiduciary duty and Musk's effective control of the board. Although the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated the pay package, it upheld McCormick's underlying findings [1]. Musk responded to criticism of McCormick on social media by calling it 'absolute corruption' [1].
CONCLUSION
The reassignment of Musk-related lawsuits in Delaware follows allegations of bias against Chancellor McCormick, though she firmly denied any partiality. The move aims to preserve judicial integrity amid heightened media scrutiny. Market participants may view the change as a step toward ensuring impartial proceedings in high-profile cases involving Tesla and Elon Musk.