ProcureNet Limited and Gurbaksh Chahal have filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Inc. and X Corp., accusing the social media giant of breaching advertising contracts by unjustly suspending their accounts. The complaint was lodged in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District, Division Two, on September 25, 2024. ProcureNet Limited claims that Twitter's actions violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing inherent in their advertising agreements.
The plaintiffs, ProcureNet Limited and its founder Gurbaksh Chahal, allege that they invested over $1 million in advertising on Twitter to promote their BNN Breaking News Network (BNN) accounts. These accounts were created to cover global breaking news and COVID-19 updates. However, in June 2022, Twitter suspended these accounts citing violations of platform rules against manipulation and spam. The plaintiffs argue that this suspension was unjustified and a result of a "mass reporting" attack triggered by BNN's coverage of statements made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Despite providing evidence to Twitter about third-party attacks on their accounts, ProcureNet claims that Twitter failed to adequately address the issue or reinstate most of the suspended accounts. By October 2022, additional non-profit and corporate accounts linked to Chahal were also suspended following similar attacks. The plaintiffs assert that Twitter's failure to respond effectively or refund their advertising expenditure constitutes a breach of contract.
Twitter responded with an anti-SLAPP motion—a legal maneuver designed to dismiss lawsuits impeding free speech—arguing that their actions were protected under free speech rights as editorial decisions regarding content delivery on matters of public interest. However, the trial court denied this motion after determining that while Twitter’s activities were protected under free speech, the plaintiffs' claims held minimal merit sufficient to proceed.
ProcureNet seeks judicial relief for breach of contract damages due to lost benefits from their advertising agreements with Twitter. They argue that despite any terms allowing account suspension "for any or no reason," such discretion must be exercised in good faith—something they claim did not occur here.
The case is being heard by Judge Miller with Stewart serving as Presiding Judge and Desautels as Associate Judge under Case ID A168426. Legal representation for ProcureNet includes attorneys from unspecified law firms.