Dec 20 (Reuters) - A second federal judge in Texas has

withdrawn from presiding over a lawsuit by Elon Musk's X against

a group of advertisers that allegedly boycotted the social media

platform.

U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas recused himself

from the case without giving a reason, according to a filing

made public on Thursday. Dallas-based U.S. District Judge Jane

Boyle was selected at random to take over the case and a related

lawsuit filed by the video-sharing platform Rumble.

X's lawsuit in August accused the World Federation of

Advertisers and several major companies of conspiring to boycott

the platform, causing it to lose revenue.

Kinkeade and Boyle did not immediately respond to requests

for comment on the recusal notice. X did not immediately respond

to a similar request. The World Federation declined to comment.

The defendants have not yet responded in court to X's

claims that they conspired to stop advertising on the platform,

formerly known as Twitter, after Musk purchased it in 2022.

X's lawsuit was originally assigned to U.S. District Judge

Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. O'Connor removed himself

from the case in August following reports that he owned shares

of another Musk company, Tesla.

O'Connor did not give a reason in his recusal filing.

Kinkeade was appointed after O'Connor's recusal.

U.S. judges are not required to disclose their reasons for

recusal, though they sometimes do.

X in October updated its user terms of service to steer

lawsuits against the company exclusively to the Northern

District of Texas, where the Dallas and Fort Worth courts are

based, or to state courts in Tarrant County, Texas.

The Northern District has become a favored venue for

litigants in conservative circles. O'Connor, Kinkeade and Boyle

were each appointed by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Musk moved X's headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop,

Texas, near Austin in the state's Western District, earlier this

year.

The case is X Corp v World Federation of Advertisers et al,

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No.

7:24-cv-00114-K.

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