Leslie Berland, Twitter’s then-chief advertising officer, flew spherical journey coast-to-coast on jets offered by Non-public Jet Providers Group LLC on Oct. 26 and 27, when Musk was closing his $44 billion acquisition of the platform. Berland was a major level of contact with Musk and personally escorted him on a tour of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters earlier than returning to her workplace in New Jersey.

Berland was fired in early November, together with about half of Twitter’s workforce. When Non-public Jet Providers billed $197,725 for Berland’s flights just a few days later, Twitter rejected the invoices on the grounds that the flights have been booked by unauthorized staff.

In courtroom papers filed Tuesday in New Hampshire federal courtroom, Twitter complained that Non-public Jet Providers grossly overcharged for Berland’s journey, billing as a lot as twice the going charge relying on the kind of plane used.

“Market charge for next-day personal air constitution companies, spherical journey, coast-to-coast on midsize jets are estimated at $70,000 to $96,000, and on massive jets, $88,000 to $156,000,” Twitter’s attorneys stated. “These ranges are considerably much less” than the bill submitted for Berland’s flights.

Twitter’s attorneys additionally claimed the corporate doesn’t need to pay as a result of the charters have been organized by Berland’s government assistant and by the manager assistant of Twitter’s then-CEO Parag Agrawal. Neither worker is among the 4 “designated representatives” named in Twitter’s contract as a certified booker, in accordance with the submitting.

Since Musk’s buy, Twitter has did not pay tens of millions of {dollars} in hire for its San Francisco headquarters and London places of work, has been sued by a number of contractors over unpaid companies and has auctioned off the whole lot from fowl statues to espresso machines to lift cash. He’s additionally overtly floated the thought of chapter, cited a “large drop” in income as some advertisers fled from the platform, and slashed workers since closing his leveraged buyout.

Non-public Jet Providers’ grievance included inside Twitter emails in regards to the bill, together with one despatched by Agrawal’s assistant stating the CEO had signed off on Berland’s constitution expense as “an pressing want the week the deal closed.”

Nonetheless, Marty O’Neill, the Twitter government who obtained that e mail, nonetheless rebuffed the costs saying, “New administration isn’t going to budge.”

Twitter requested the New Hampshire decide to dismiss the grievance as a result of the costs fell outdoors the bounds of its constitution contract.

Timothy McLaughlin, the constitution firm’s legal professional, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark after common enterprise hours.

Learn to navigate and strengthen belief in your online business with The Belief Issue, a weekly e-newsletter inspecting what leaders must succeed. Join right here.