A federal jury found that Elon Musk violated securities law with false and misleading statements about his Twitter takeover, artificially deflating the stock. If you sold Twitter shares or call options — or bought put options — between May 13 and October 4, 2022, you can now file for your jury-awarded damages plus interest, with claims due November 24, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. On March 20, 2026, a federal jury in San Francisco returned a verdict finding that Elon Musk violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making false and misleading statements about his acquisition of Twitter, Inc., and that Twitter's stock price was artificially deflated as a result between May 13, 2022 and October 4, 2022. Class Members who sold Twitter publicly traded stock or call options, or purchased put options, during that window can now submit a Claim Form for the damages the jury awarded, plus interest.The claim deadline is November 24, 2026 — online submissions must be made, and mailed forms postmarked or received, by that date. The Notice of Verdict gives only the date and does not specify a cutoff time or timezone. Class Counsel say they will apply to the Court for attorneys' fees, expenses, and service awards after the claims process finishes; the hearing date on that request has not been set, and no payment date had been announced as of July 31, 2026.
What Changed Recently?
A trial in Pampena v. Musk, Case No. 3:22-cv-05937-CRB, began March 2, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. On March 20, 2026, the jury returned its verdict against Musk. The court-approved Notice of Verdict and the Claim Form that followed are what opened the filing window now running to November 24, 2026.One thing worth understanding before you read any further: this is a verdict, not a settlement. In a typical securities settlement, a defendant pays into a fund without admitting wrongdoing, and claimants receive a fraction of their recognized loss. Here the Notice states that Class Members are entitled to payment of the full damages the jury awarded, plus interest, reduced only by their proportionate share of whatever fees, expenses, and service awards the Court approves. That is an unusual posture for a securities class action and it changes what a claim is worth.
Who Qualifies?
The Class is defined as all persons and entities who sold the publicly traded stock or call options, or purchased the put options, of Twitter, Inc. during the period from May 13, 2022 through October 4, 2022, both dates inclusive, and who suffered damages by Musk's violations of Section 10(b) and of the Exchange Act. Excluded from the Class are Elon Musk and any individuals who previously opted out of the litigation.Note the direction of the class. Most securities cases compensate buyers who overpaid because a stock was inflated. This one runs the other way: the jury found the price was deflated, so the people who lost money were the ones who sold into it — sellers of common stock, sellers of call options, and buyers of put options. If you held Twitter through the merger without selling in that window, that is not the position this class covers.
Banks, brokerages, and other nominees who sold or purchased these securities for the benefit of clients file through the separate nominee process on the official case website rather than the individual claim form.
How Much Can You Get?
There is no fixed per-person figure and no common fund to divide. The jury awarded a specific damages amount per share and per option contract for each trading day in the Class Period, and your payment depends on which days you transacted and in what volume. The Notice's own worked example: someone who bought 1,000 Twitter shares at any time before May 13, 2022 and sold them on May 18, 2022 would have damages of $7,940 — 1,000 shares multiplied by the $7.94 per share the jury awarded for May 18, 2022 — plus interest, less any Court-approved deductions.Acquisitions and dispositions are matched on a first-in-first-out basis, and the calculation then depends on how a Class Period sale pairs off:
- A Class Period sale matched with a purchase made before the Class Period began: damages equal the full deflation on the sale date, because there was no deflation built into the purchase price.
- A Class Period sale matched with a Class Period purchase: damages equal the deflation on the sale date minus the deflation on the purchase date.
- A Class Period sale matched with a purchase made after the Class Period, such as a short position covered later: damages are capped at the lesser of the deflation on the sale date, or the average price between the end of the Class Period and the covering purchase date less the Class Period sale price. This is the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act limit.
- Call and put options are matched the same way, series by series, each with its own daily deflation figure for calls and inflation figure for puts. Exercising an option you owned is treated as a disposition at the exercise price; having an option exercised against you is treated as a covering acquisition at the exercise price.
Whatever the Class recovers is reduced by amounts the Court awards to Class Counsel and the lead plaintiffs. Class Counsel say the fee request will not exceed 31% of the aggregate damages plus interest, plus actual litigation expenses incurred — excluding notice and claims administration costs — capped at $5 million. The lead plaintiffs will seek service awards totaling no more than $150,000 combined. All of it is subject to Court approval, and none of it has been ruled on yet.
What Proof or Documentation Is Required?
Documentation is required, so treat this as a proof-required claim even though there is no administrator-issued Claim ID or PIN gating the form. Copies of broker confirmations, trade confirmation emails, or monthly, quarterly, or annual bank or brokerage statements evidencing your Twitter stock and option transactions must be submitted with the Claim Form. The Notice is explicit that the parties do not have information about your transactions, which means nothing is prefilled and nothing can be verified from the other side.You must document your holdings at the opening of trading on May 13, 2022 and at the opening of trading on October 27, 2022, along with every purchase, acquisition, sale, assignment, exercise, and expiration in between. Each transaction is listed separately and in chronological order by trade date, using the contract or trade date rather than the settlement date. The Claimant Identification section also asks for the last four digits of your Social Security or taxpayer identification number and the account number where the securities were traded, which the administrator uses to verify the claim. Failure to provide the documentation could delay verification or result in rejection.
What Is the Deadline?
November 24, 2026. Claims submitted through the official website must be submitted no later than that date, and mailed Claim Forms must be postmarked or received no later than that date. The Notice of Verdict and the Claim Form both give the date only — no time of day and no timezone are specified, so do not assume a late-evening cutoff.One practical warning from the administrator: the online claim is not saved if you leave and come back later. Gather every trade confirmation and statement you plan to attach before you start the form.
How Do You Take Action?
File at the official case website, Twitter Acquisition Litigation, which is administered by Epiq. The online path asks for your contact information, the detail of every Twitter stock, call option, and put option transaction between May 13 and October 27, 2022, and any documentation you are attaching. A downloadable paper Claim Form is available on the same site for anyone who would rather file by mail.If you are a bank, broker, or other third-party nominee filing for clients, use the Nominees page rather than the individual claim form. If you have a large number of transactions, you can request the electronic filing template and submit your trade data as a file instead of entering each line by hand. Any file that does not follow the required format is subject to rejection.
If you have a question the site does not answer, use the contact page on the official case website. Filing a claim is free, and no one needs to pay a third party to file on their behalf.
What Happens Next?
The claims process runs through November 24, 2026. After it completes, Class Counsel and the lead plaintiffs will file their application for attorneys' fees, expenses, and service awards; the Notice says those motions and the hearing date will be posted on the official case website and on Class Counsel's own websites when they are filed. Class Members with valid claims may file objections to the fee, expense, and service-award request up to 21 days before that hearing.You cannot object to the verdict itself, and you cannot opt out at this stage. No distribution schedule or payment date had been announced as of July 31, 2026, and the amount ultimately paid to each claimant depends both on the claims that are approved and on what the Court awards in fees and expenses.
Sources and Verification
- Twitter Acquisition Litigation — the official case website administered by Epiq, including the Important Documents, Submit a Claim, Nominees, and FAQ pages.
- Notice of Verdict and Proof of Claim Form, Pampena v. Musk, No. 3:22-cv-05937-CRB (reproduced in full below).
- Jury Verdict and other filings in Pampena v. Musk, available through the Important Documents page of the official case website.
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) for the Northern District of California docket, at ecf.cand.uscourts.gov (fee-based).
Questions
I bought Twitter stock during the Class Period and lost money. Can I file?
This class covers people and entities who sold Twitter publicly traded stock or call options, or purchased put options, between May 13 and October 4, 2022. Because the jury found the alleged misstatements deflated the price, the damage fell on sellers rather than buyers. Purchases you made during the Class Period are still reported on the Claim Form, because acquisitions and dispositions are matched on a first-in-first-out basis and a Class Period purchase can reduce the damages calculated on a matched sale. Buying and holding without a Class Period sale is not what this class covers.
Why does the Claim Form ask about transactions through October 27, 2022 when the Class Period ends October 4?
October 27, 2022 is the date the Twitter merger closed. The Claim Form asks for all of your Twitter stock and option transactions from May 13, 2022 through October 27, 2022, plus your holdings at the opening of trading on May 13, 2022 and October 27, 2022, so the administrator can match acquisitions against dispositions and apply the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act limits on positions that were closed after the Class Period ended.
My Twitter shares were cashed out when the merger closed. Do I have a claim?
The Class is defined by sales of publicly traded stock or call options, or purchases of put options, during the period from May 13 through October 4, 2022. A cash-out that happened when the merger closed on October 27, 2022 falls outside that window. The Claim Form still asks you to report holdings and transactions through October 27, 2022 so the administrator can match your trades, and whether a particular position produces damages is determined by the administrator under the Verdict and Plan of Allocation.
Can I still opt out of this class action?
No. The Notice of Verdict states that you may not opt out at this time. If you are a Class Member you are bound by any judgment entered in the case whether or not you submit a Claim Form. If you previously submitted a valid request for exclusion from the certified class, you are no longer eligible to file a claim. You also cannot object to the verdict itself, though Class Members with valid claims may object to the request for attorneys' fees, expenses, and service awards.
What if I no longer have my broker records for 2022?
Request copies from your bank or brokerage. The Notice states that the parties do not have information about your transactions, so documentation has to come from you, and failure to provide it could delay verification of your claim or result in rejection. Trade confirmations, monthly or quarterly statements, and annual statements are all acceptable. Claimants with a large number of transactions may request to submit their trade data as an electronic file instead of typing each line into the online form.
Do I need to hire my own lawyer to file a claim?
No. Class Members are represented by Class Counsel, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP and Bottini & Bottini, Inc., at no separate charge. You may enter an appearance through counsel of your own choosing, but you would be responsible for that lawyer's fees. Class Counsel will apply to the Court for fees and expenses, which are deducted proportionately from Class Members' recoveries.
