Philly DA’s lawsuit against Elon Musk to get its day in court Monday

PHILADELPHIA — Larry Krasner is returning to court Monday morning to face Elon Musk.

But the tech billionaire did not show up, leaving the case to be handled by his attorneys. And the fate of Krasner’s lawsuit against Musk and his political action committee remained an open question.

The city’s district attorney, a Democrat, sued Musk and his America PAC a week ago, saying the PAC’s daily $1 million awards to registered voters in battleground states — including Pennsylvania — violated the state’s lottery and consumer protection laws.

But after some legal wrangling last week — including an unsuccessful effort by Musk’s attorneys to move the case to federal court — Krasner’s attempt to bar Musk from running his contest in Pennsylvania is getting a hearing just a day before Election Day.

In addition, Musk’s PAC said on its website that it plans to issue just one more $1 million award on Tuesday — and that it will go to a registered voter in Michigan.

So even if Krasner succeeds in convincing a city judge that the sweepstakes violates local law, his victory may not prevent any future payouts before polls open for the election.

In any case, Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta is expected to hear arguments around on the matter around 10 a.m. And Krasner had arrived in the courtroom by 9:30 a.m., flanked by a team of his attorneys.

Musk, a top surrogate for Republican nominee Donald Trump, has denied Krasner’s assertions that the giveaway is illegal, casting it as a way to drive up GOP voter registration numbers in states that might decide the election.

Last week, his attorneys also sought to have the case re-classified as a federal matter, saying it didn’t belong in a state courtroom because it concerned a presidential election.

But late Friday, U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert declined to accept oversight of the case, saying that although it is colliding with a federal election, the laws Krasner is seeking to employ against Musk and his PAC are Pennsylvania statutes — making it a matter for a local court to decide.

The case now lands with Foglietta. He held a brief hearing last week at which attorneys for both sides made some preliminary statements about their case, but he then put the matter on hold until the jurisdictional issue was resolved.

The judge gave no indication of how he might rule on Krasner’s request to bar Musk from giving away any more prizes to Pennsylvania voters.

And he did not specify whether he intended to grant or reject a request from Musk’s attorneys that the tech mogul be allowed to skip the proceedings. Musk did not show up last week, and in court papers filed Friday afternoon, his attorneys said he “is subject to an incredible number of time commitments that involve careful planning and preclude last-minute changes in the days leading up to a major federal presidential election.”