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- Grimes says Elon Musk is blocking access to their nannies in their custody battle, court records show.
- She accused Musk of using NDAs in an attempt to cherry-pick information from the nannies.
- Family law experts said it's unlikely Musk will be able to stop the nannies from testifying.
Grimes has accused Elon Musk of blocking their kids' nannies from providing information that would help her in their custody battle and instead cherry-picking information that is favorable to him, according to court records obtained by Business Insider.
Musk and Grimes both filed child custody lawsuits against each other in September in Texas and California respectively. Musk has argued Texas is the kids' home state and accused Grimes, the musician whose legal name is Claire Boucher, of moving two of the children, one-year-olds Exa and Tau, to California this year in order to avoid Texas courts.
However, Grimes has said the kids have lived in California since around December 31, 2022, though she noted that 3-year-old X has been with Musk in Texas over her objection.
Family law experts previously said the former couple could spend months or even a year just trying to prove where the kids live, a potentially elaborate process that could rely heavily on testimony from nannies about where the children have been.
Where the case plays out could have major consequences for Musk — one of the richest people in the world — as Texas limits child custody payouts for three kids to $2,760 per month, while California has no cap.
Court records show the children's nannies are already part of that jurisdictional fight. In a motion filed November 30 and obtained by Business Insider this week, Grimes accused Musk of limiting access to the kids' nannies, whom the document says are "bound by non-disclosure agreements" that he required them to sign.
The filing alleges that Musk has "refused to answer whether he would relieve nannies of their obligations under the terms of the non-disclosure agreement" if Grimes "seeks information from the nannies which likely would be beneficial to her." It also said Musk filed a motion to prevent Grimes from getting information from the company that employs the nannies.
Instead, the filing says, Musk "wants to cherry pick information from the nannies" that he believes is favorable to him.
Musk "appears to be taking the untenable position that the nannies are not bound by the non-disclosure agreement" when it benefits him, but is using the same non-disclosure agreement to block the nannies from providing Grimes with information, the filing said.
Lawyers for Musk and Grimes did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
Peter M. Walzer, a California family law attorney and partner at Walzer Melcher, told Business Insider it's unlikely Musk can stop the nannies from testifying without dropping the case altogether.
"They're the ones who have the knowledge of how many days the kids spent in any place," Walzer said of the nannies, noting that the home state of the children is typically the place where they spent the six months leading up to the litigation.
Chris Melcher, also a California family law attorney and partner at Walzer Melcher, agreed it's likely that the court will ultimately compel the nannies to testify.
"This is a common tactic we see in which the person who employs the nanny and has the NDA uses the information from the nanny as needed and then blocks the other side from validating that statement or getting contradictory information," he said.
He noted the nannies may have more loyalty to Musk, who likely pays them if they watch the kids in Texas, and that they also may be at a higher risk of being sued by Musk than Grimes.
Still, he said, a non-disclosure agreement is typically a promise not to publicly reveal information about the family — it's not an order that prohibits them from speaking in court. Musk for his part has asked the court to issue a protective order restricting public access to the custody case, arguing the potential risk to his kids outweighs public interest.
The filing from Grimes also asked the court to sanction Musk over his actions, which typically involves imposing a financial penalty, but Melcher said that was unlikely to happen and is usually a last resort.