Twitter Inc fired back at the private jet provider sued over unpaid bills, saying the company overcharged for the social media giant’s marketing chief to fly across the country in October to meet with new owner Elon Musk.
Leslie Berland, Twitter’s then-chief marketing officer, flew a coast-to-coast round trip on a jet provided by Private Jet Services Group LLC on October 26 and 27, when Musk closed the $44 billion acquisition of the platform. Berland was the main point of contact with Musk and personally escorted him on a tour of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters before returning to his office in New Jersey.
Berland was fired in early November, along with half of Twitter’s workforce. When Private Jet Services paid $197,725 for Berland’s flight a few days later, Twitter rejected the bill because the flight was booked by an unauthorized employee.
In court papers filed Tuesday in New Hampshire federal court, Twitter complained that Private Jet Services overcharged for Berland’s trips, billing double the fare depending on the type of plane used.
“The market rate for the next private air charter service, round-trip, coast-to-coast on a midsize jet is about $70,000 to $96,000, and on a large jet, $88,000 to $156,000,” a Twitter lawyer said. “This range is significantly less” than the invoice sent for the Berland flight.
Twitter’s lawyers also argued that the company shouldn’t have to pay because the charter was organized by Berland’s executive assistant and by then-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s executive assistant. Neither employee is one of the four “designated representatives” named in Twitter’s contract as authorized bookers, according to the filing.
Since buying Musk, Twitter has failed to pay millions of dollars in rent for its San Francisco headquarters and London office, has been sued by multiple contractors for unpaid services and has auctioned off everything from bird sculptures to espresso machines to raise money. He also opened up about the idea of bankruptcy, citing a “huge drop” in revenue as some advertisers fled the platform, and cut staff since closing leveraged buyouts.
Private Jet Services’ complaint includes internal Twitter emails about invoices, including one sent by Agrawal’s assistant that indicated the CEO had signed off on Berland’s charter fees as “an urgent need during the closing week of the deal.”
However, Marty O’Neill, the Twitter executive who received the email, still denied the allegations, “The new management will not back down.”
Twitter asked a New Hampshire judge to dismiss the complaint because the allegations were outside the bounds of the charter contract.
Timothy McLaughlin, an attorney for the charter company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment after regular business hours.
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