Musk Lawyer Spiro Claims He Was ‘Denigrated’ During Deposition

Elon Musk’s lawyer is firing back at the attorney who accused him of trying to sabotage the tech billionaire’s deposition in a Texas defamation case.

The accusations are “a transparent attempt to sensationalize this case,” Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said in a court filing Thursday.

Spiro is defending Musk in a lawsuit by Ben Brody, a California man claiming Musk helped spread a harmful conspiracy theory against him. Brody’s lawyer, Mark Bankston, earlier this month asked the judge in the case to sanction Spiro for his behavior during a virtual deposition of Musk.

Spiro responded Thursday with his own request for sanctions. He said Bankston is derailing the litigation “with unfounded accusations and publicity-minded barbs, exaggerations, and distortions.”

Both sides described the March 27 Musk deposition as contentious and highly charged.

Brody claimed that Spiro obstructed the deposition by mocking opposing counsel and interrupting the questioning. Spiro said he was “denigrated” for simply doing his best to defend his client.

“While Mr. Spiro’s responses were pointed at times in light of the deposing attorney’s insults, shouting, interruptions, and violations of the court’s order,” John Bash and Emiliano Delgado, Quinn Emanuel lawyers working on the case, wrote in the latest filing, “his instructions appropriately enforced the directive of this Court for a limited deposition.”

Brody sued Musk over a Tweet suggesting that Brody was an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a neo-Nazi street thug. He’s seeking $1 million in damages for defamation, arguing that it led to a wave of harassment against him and his family.

The case is Ben Brody v. Elon Musk, D. Travis County, Texas, No. D-1-GN-23-006883, 4/8/24