U.S. Federal Judge Reed O’Connor has been a long-time active member of the Federalist Society. In 2018, he spoke on a panel at the Texas Chapter’s annual conference.
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U.S. Texas district judge recuses himself from lawsuit filed by Musk queen of heaven NPR examines the judge’s investment in Tesla and questions Musk’s use of the courts for “forum shopping.”
But O’Connor, according to him Recent public financial revelationsIt also invested in Unilever, which is one of the defendants in Musk’s lawsuit against Brand Alliance. The judge reported that the company received dividends of $15,000 or less in 2022.
at O’Connor’s Two sentences in order Musk’s case aside, he offered no explanation.
Last week, Musk filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and its member companies CVS, Orsted, Unilever and Mars, noting that the matter will be heard by another federal judge in North Texas, without further explanation. this decision.
The lawsuit alleges that the brands illegally conspired against X to deprive the company of advertising revenue. The case has now been reassigned to U.S. District Judge Kim Ki-duk, court records show.
According to O’Connor Recent public financial revelationshe owns up to $50,000 in shares of Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company. He also invested in and profited from Unilever, raising questions about the ability of judges to fairly hear cases involving advertisers.
This is the second lawsuit Musk has filed against critics in Fort Worth’s O’Connor Courthouse, although neither party is based in Texas.
Musk’s X sued watchdog Media Matters in November after the group published a report highlighting white nationalist content appearing next to brands advertising on the platform.
In that case, O’Connor issued a sweeping ruling in Musk’s favor, including granting Musk’s lawyers broad latitude to request hundreds of pages of documents from the nonprofit, a process known as legal discovery.
The decision came before O’Connor ruled on whether Musk’s case against Media Matters had any merit.
For five months, Media Matters has been waiting for O’Connor’s ruling on a motion to dismiss, typically the first legal hurdle a lawsuit must clear before it can proceed. Not considered yet. Meanwhile, the nonprofit spent millions of dollars complying with document requests that its attorneys likened to “harassment.”
O’Connor’s resignation from the Advertiser case comes amid news that Musk’s lawsuit has squeezed out one of the central figures in the suit.
The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)’s brand safety initiative has withdrawn due to Musk’s lawsuit.
GARM is led by the World Federation of Advertisers, which Musk is suing. The federation said in a statement that Musk’s legal actions “have caused disruption and severely drained its resources and finances.”
The coalition was formed after footage of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, was broadcast live on Facebook in 2019. The effort is an effort to bring more transparency to social media advertising and raise a collective voice against violent and extreme content on the platform.
