“Sorry, Elon. Sorry, Quinn Emanuel. Thanks $2 billion for your help in this trial. It was a pleasure working against you,” Plotkin allegedly wrote in the LinkedIn post, according to the filing. “Congratulations to the trial team at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP and Bottini Law for standing up for the little guy against the richest man in the world,” the post said.
The chancellor, according to the filing, allegedly reacted to the post, and Musk’s lawyers asserted that was enough to get her thrown from the case. McCormick is presiding over two separate derivative cases including Musk. The first case involves a dispute over how much in legal fees the lawyers who won a case against Musk should be paid. The other is an ongoing case against the Tesla board of directors that alleges they paid themselves with excessive compensation packages.
In a motion filed last week, the lawyers shared a screenshot from March 23 that showed an account, which had the name “Katie McCormick” and included a profile picture of the chancellor, reacted with “support”—one of five LinkedIn reactions that include liking, celebrating, loving a post, or finding a post insightful or funny.
Musk’s lawyers added that most people who reacted to the post used the “like” function and not “support.” The lawsuit alleges that later that day, McCormick deactivated her account. Musk’s lawyers cited several Delaware Supreme Court case laws that protect against judge bias in cases and when judges are obliged to recuse themselves.
“In light of the Court’s recent public support of LinkedIn posts that create a perception of bias against Mr. Musk in these cases, recusal is necessary and warranted,” Musk’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
McCormick denied the request to recuse herself but did agree to reassign the three cases involving Musk that she was presiding over on Monday.
“I either did not click the ‘support’ icon at all, or I did so accidentally,” McCormick wrote in the letter. After seeing a screenshot on March 23 of the post and the alleged reaction, she reported the “suspicious activity to LinkedIn,” she wrote. When she later attempted to log in to the platform, she claimed her account was locked. Her letter also confirmed Musk’s lawyers’ filing in that she deactivated her account.
In another claim in the filing, Musk’s lawyers also alleged that a court staffer (whose LinkedIn profile allegedly said she worked for McCormick, according to the filing) liked a post that included a screenshot of an article about Musk’s testimony in the California case, in which he testified that he believed McCormick was biased against him. Musk’s lawyers argue this is further grounds for recusal.
“The supportive reactions to those posts, by accounts under the control of the Court and a member of court staff, independently create a perception of bias in these cases that the Court supports the outcome in the Pampena case and would support a similar outcome for allegations made here,” Musk’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
Tesla, Musk’s lawyers, and McCormick did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Musk’s lawyers argue that the pair’s history is particularly relevant due to McCormick’s history with Musk and ruling against his compensation packages.
“[W]e were unlikely to win the case in Delaware because the judge was extremely biased against me,” Musk said in a March 4 testimony in California. “This was, in fact, the same judge that struck my Tesla option grant that was subsequently overturned by the Delaware Supreme Court. So it’s accurate to say she was—that that judge was not favorably inclined to me. Not objective.”
