Former Twitter Employees Denied Class Status in Bonuses Case

A group of former Twitter Inc. employees suing the company over unpaid bonuses can’t move the case forward as a class action.

Judge Vince Chhabria on Wednesday ruled that Mark Schobinger, former senior director of compensation who is suing the company, is inadequate to represent the class because he allegedly advocated against paying the bonuses.

“He might fit nicely into this case as a defendant, but he cannot possibly fit as a named plaintiff,” Chhabria said in his order denying Schobinger’s motion for class certification.

The ruling comes weeks after Chhabria reprimanded Schobinger and his attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC at a hearing in the US District Court for the Northern District of California over Schobinger’s apparently conflicting positions.

Twitter, now X Corp., unearthed emails and messages during the litigation showing that Schobinger, who sued after not receiving his promised bonus in 2022, had actually told the company’s new owner Elon Musk to not pay out the bonuses.

“His conduct makes him the worst possible candidate to serve as a litigation representative for the other Twitter employees who didn’t get a bonus,” Chhabria’s Wednesday opinion said.

Schobinger’s “convoluted explanation” for his advocacy against the bonuses while believing he was entitled to one is likely untrue, the judge said.

Chhabria denied Liss-Riordan’s request to substitute Schobinger as a class representative, saying the attorney is “totally unqualified to serve as class counsel” because she moved for class certification after discovering the evidence against Schobinger.

Schobinger first sued in 2023, and Chhabria denied Twitter’s motion to dismiss.

X still faces numerous suits over labor and workplace violations stemming from Musk’s protracted takeover over the social media company in October 2022.

Law Office of Robert Starr also represents Schobinger. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP represents X.

The case is Schobinger v. Twitter Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 3:23-cv-03007, 10/16/24.