Another judge withdraws from Musk lawsuit over advertising on X

By Mike Scarcella

Dec 20 (Reuters) - A second federal judge in Texas has withdrawn from presiding over a lawsuit by Elon Musk's X against a group of advertisers that allegedly boycotted the social media platform.

U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas recused himself from the case without giving a reason, according to a filing made public on Thursday. Dallas-based U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle was selected at random to take over the case and a related lawsuit filed by the video-sharing platform Rumble.

X’s lawsuit in August accused the World Federation of Advertisers and several major companies of conspiring to boycott the platform, causing it to lose revenue.

Kinkeade and Boyle did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the recusal notice. X did not immediately respond to a similar request. The World Federation declined to comment.

The defendants have not yet responded in court to X's claims that they conspired to stop advertising on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, after Musk purchased it in 2022.

X's lawsuit was originally assigned to U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. O’Connor removed himself from the case in August following reports that he owned shares of another Musk company, Tesla.

O'Connor did not give a reason in his recusal filing. Kinkeade was appointed after O’Connor’s recusal.

U.S. judges are not required to disclose their reasons for recusal, though they sometimes do.

X in October updated its user terms of service to steer lawsuits against the company exclusively to the Northern District of Texas, where the Dallas and Fort Worth courts are based, or to state courts in Tarrant County, Texas.

The Northern District has become a favored venue for litigants in conservative circles. O’Connor, Kinkeade and Boyle were each appointed by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Musk moved X's headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas, near Austin in the state's Western District, earlier this year.

The case is X Corp v World Federation of Advertisers et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 7:24-cv-00114-K.

Read more:

Musk's X adds Twitch as defendant in lawsuit over advertising 'boycott'

Elon Musk's X drops Unilever from advertiser boycott lawsuit

Texas judge in lawsuit by Musk's X against advertisers exits case

Musk’s X accuses advertisers of boycotting platform in new lawsuit

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)

((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))