The previous prime officers stated Musk confirmed “particular ire” towards them after he took over the social-media platform in 2022, publicly vowing to withhold their severance to recoup about $200 million from the $44 billion deal, in response to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal courtroom in northern California.

Twitter, which Musk renamed X, has been accused in a number of fits of quite a few labor and office violations, together with failing to pay severance to hundreds of employees laid off within the months after the takeover. The corporate additionally was accused in a raft of fits of failing to pay tens of millions owed to distributors and landlords whereas purportedly attempting to remain financially solvent.

“Below Musk’s management, Twitter has turn out to be a scofflaw, stiffing workers, landlords, distributors, and others. Musk doesn’t pay his payments, believes the foundations don’t apply to him, and makes use of his wealth and energy to run roughshod over anybody who disagrees with him,” attorneys for Agrawal and the opposite ex-executives stated within the 38-page criticism.

A spokesperson for X declined to remark. Musk didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail in search of remark.

As quickly as he took over Twitter, Musk fired a number of different top-ranking executives along with Agrawal: Vijaya Gadde, who was the corporate’s prime authorized and coverage official; Ned Segal, the chief monetary officer; and Sean Edgett, Twitter’s normal counsel.

The dismissals had been unsurprising on the time. All of these executives had been key gamers for Twitter within the firm’s lawsuit in the summertime of 2022 aimed toward forcing Musk to consummate his buy of the platform after he tried to again out.

Every of the executives was resulting from obtain substantial payouts as a part of Musk’s settlement to purchase the corporate, which included language that might expedite the their unvested inventory awards. Agrawal alone was set to get roughly $50 million in severance payouts.

Learn Extra: Musk’s X Can’t Escape Go well with Over Unpaid Worker Bonuses

In October, Agrawal, Gadde and different former executives gained a ruling from a Delaware decide requiring X to pay $1.1 million in authorized bills they incurred whereas they labored for the corporate.

In early December, X failed in court-ordered mediation to resolve claims by hundreds of former Twitter workers who say they had been cheated of severance pay.

Additionally in December, San Francisco decide rejected X’s request to dismiss a lawsuit by workers claiming they had been denied 2022 bonuses, regardless of being promised within the months main as much as Musk’s acquisition that they’d be paid 50% of their goal quantities.