KEY WEST LOU
FACEBOOK: END OF ONE LAWSUIT, THE BEGINNING OF YET ANOTHER
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L E G A L I T I E S W I T H Louis Petrone
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acebook is one of the out- standing creations of all time! It allows social net-
working to the nth degree and be- yond. Mark Zuckerberg is the young
genius responsible for Facebook. He purportedly is now the richest man in the world. Deservedly so. Back in Facebook’s early success
days, Zuckerberg was sued by the Winklevoss twins, Mark and Tyler. Tey claimed they had invented/developed Facebook to- gether with Zuckerberg while all three were at Harvard. Te litigation was acrimonious.
It was finally settled in 2008 by a payment to the Winklevoss broth- ers of $65 million. Tose of you who may have seen the excellent movie “Social Networking” will re- call the settlement conference be- tween Zuckerberg and one of his lawyers. Te lawyer encouraged him to pay the $65 million. It was a drop in the bucket compared to the multi-millions Zuckerberg al- ready had made. During the litigation, both sides
were represented by top shelf attor- neys, accountants, financial advis- ers, etc. Te stakes were high. Recently, the Winklevoss broth-
ers decided they had settled too cheaply at $65 million. Facebook’s stock is worth exceedingly more today than in 2008 when the set- tlement was entered into. So the brothers brought another lawsuit. Tis one to set aside the 2008 set- tlement. Te Ninth Circuit appellate court yesterday said no way.
LOU PETRONE TALK SHOW HOST
Clearly and emphatically. Te court’s reasoning was that the Win- klevoss brothers were intelligent, educated men who had six attor- neys representing them and their father. Te elder Winklevoss was a Wharton professor and was an in- tegral part of the settlement process and decision. Te court also was of the opinion that every litigation must have an ending. And this one ended with the 2008 settlement. In effect, the settle- ment was a binding legal deal and the Winklevoss brothers were stuck with it. Te Winklevoss brothers can
appeal to the full Ninth Circuit Court and to the Supreme Court. In my opinion, neither will do them any good. Te three-judge decision just rendered is sound. Further legal activity would be
an exercise in futility from my per- spective. But with big money in- volved, the Winklevoss brothers might be inclined to go further. Now comes Paul Ceglia. Ceglia
claims that in 2003 and 2004 while Zuckerberg was a freshman at Harvard, Celgia and Zuckerman communicated via emails. Ceglia Continued
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