Elon Musk Meets His Match in Shakespeare-Quoting Judge (1)

When Elon Musk tried to back out of buying Twitter Inc. in 2022, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick reined him in, with one ruling after another, until he finally relented and closed the $44 billion deal.

This week, McCormick voided the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer’s $55.8 billion pay package — the largest ever awarded — in a 201-page decision that includes references to both Shakespeare and Star Trek.

Musk, for now the richest person on the planet, takes a hardcore approach to litigation. And he has emerged from the courtroom victorious in most of his ...