Judge McCormick reassigns Musk cases after bias claims

Judge Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware reassigned cases involving Elon Musk after he accused her of bias related to her support of a social media post.Musk’s attorneys requested that McCormick recuse herself from two Tesla lawsuits, citing her response to a LinkedIn post regarding a court verdict potentially costing Musk over $2 billion due to fraudulent activity towards Twitter investors.

Judge reassigned cases

In a letter, McCormick clarified she did not intend to express support for the post and had flagged suspicious activity on her account to LinkedIn.

While she denied the request for recusal, McCormick reallocated three Musk-related cases to other judges, stating the recusal motion was based on a false premise.

McCormick noted her lack of bias, referencing a prior dismissal of a lawsuit against Musk, and confirmed her support for her colleagues’ capabilities in adjudicating the reassigned cases.

Musk initially drew ire from McCormick when she ordered Tesla to revoke his 2018 CEO pay package, valued at approximately $56 billion in options.

In 2025, Delaware’s Supreme Court ruled that Musk’s pay package should be restored, criticising the lower court’s decision as overly harsh.

Media attention surrounding judges can hinder the administration of justice, according to McCormick, who expressed confidence in her fellow judges.

Tesla and Musk currently face two ongoing cases in Delaware court.

One case addresses Tesla directors’ compensation, while the other is a consolidated shareholder suit claiming Musk breached his fiduciary duties to Tesla by starting a rival company, xAI.