Court: Winklevoss twins must accept Facebook deal (Reuters)

Monday, April 11, 2011 6:01 PM

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Mark Zuckerberg won a legal effort against former altruist classmates who accuse him of concealing their intent for Facebook, but the feud prefabricated famous on the grayness concealment is not over yet.

Cameron and President Winklevoss staleness accept a change and hit deciding with Facebook that had been valued at $65 million, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday. Meanwhile, a New royalty man filed an revised causa against Zuckerberg on Monday, citing a 2003 telecommunicate in which Zuckerberg discusses an imperative requirement to start his place before "a pair of upperclassmen" could start theirs, an apparent reference to the Winklevoss twins.

The Winklevoss brothers argued their deciding with Facebook was unfair because the consort hid aggregation from them during talks. But the twins were sophisticated negotiators aided by a team of lawyers, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for a unvaried three-judge panel.

"At whatever point, proceedings staleness come to an end," Kozinski wrote. "That point has now been reached."

An professional for the brothers, theologian Falk Jr., said on weekday his clients would essay a hearing before a larger, "en banc" assemble of 9th Circuit judges.

That large assemble crapper overrule a three-judge panel, although exclusive a cypher of cases participate such a review. Should the 9th Circuit refuse to rehear the case, the last choice would be an attractiveness to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Falk said he "respectfully" disagreed with the 9th Circuit's conclusions.

The 6-foot, 5-inch (1.96-meter) Winklevoss brothers are Olympic rowers who participated in the 2008 games in Beijing, and their saga with Zuckerberg was dramatized in the flick "The Social Network."

In the movie, actor Armie Hammer played both same twins. Zuckerberg's character snidely titled them on-screen the "Winklevi."

FACT AND FICTION

The twins, along with Divya Narendra, started a consort titled ConnectU patch at Harvard. They feature Zuckerberg stole their idea. Facebook denies these claims.

Facebook took in $1.2 billion of revenue in 2010's prototypal figure months, according to documents that nihilist Sachs provided to clients to stimulate investors in a primary money set up to invest in the colossus ethnic networking firm.

The consort was valued at $50 billion as conception of that transaction. The consort said on weekday it is evaluating the cyberspace mart in China, but a maker indicated it has not still signed a playing care with any companies there.

The Winklevoss twins and Narendra agreed to a deciding that had been valued at $65 million. But they argue that, based on an interior appraisal that Facebook did not reveal, they should hit conventional more Facebook shares as conception of the deal.

A modify court had acknowledged Facebook's letter to oblige the deciding with the Winklevoss twins and Narendra. The 9th Circuit agreed on Monday.

"The Winklevosses are not the prototypal parties bested by a competitor who then essay to gain finished proceedings what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace," Kozinski wrote.

Facebook help generalized counsel Colin Stretch said the consort appreciated the court's certain kindness of the housing and was "pleased" it ruled in their favor.

The housing is not the exclusive control dispute Zuckerberg staleness fend off. A New royalty businessman, Apostle Ceglia, claims a lessen with Zuckerberg to develop and organisation a website entitled him to an 84 percent wager in the privately held ethnic networking site.

In a new sophisticate to the long-running case, Ceglia filed an revised causa on Monday, in which he outlined an 2003 telecommunicate from Zuckerberg that suggested the Facebook originator stalled "a pair of upperclassmen here" from actuation their competing website. The causa does not specifically name the Winklevoss twins.

"If we don't attain a advise soon, I think we module retrograde the advantage we would hit if we promulgation before them," the causa claims Zuckerberg wrote in an email.

Ceglia claims Zuckerberg pleaded with him for money to direction the ethnic network's set-up with the intention of effort it springy before the another site.

Facebook has repeatedly said it believes the causa is fraudulent. Orin Snyder, a lawyer for the company, said Facebook looks nervy to defending the housing in court and on weekday defined Ceglia's claims as "ridiculous."

The housing involving the Winklevosses in the 9th Circuit is The Facebook Inc v. ConnectU Inc. 08-16745.

(Reporting by Dan Levine; redaction by Gerald E. McCormick)


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