Image via WikipediaFacebook and Mark Zuckerberg have labeled the lawsuit to be "brazen and outrageous fraud," as they recommended the federal court to immediately discharge the case on Thursday. This new lawsuit is filed be a resident of New York, Paul Ceglia, who claims to own a huge stake in the company. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, which Mark Zuckerberg claimed to be totally based on sheer "doctored contract and fabricated evidence." Moreover, it was also asserted that Ceglia is "an inveterate scam artist whose misconduct extends across decades and borders."
Ceglia is from Wellsville, New York, and claims that he had signed a contract with Mark Zuckerberg in 2003, for having a fair 50% share of Zuckerberg's interest, which is now Facebook. Facebook is currently held privately, though many analysts have predicted that if the company goes public, it could gather more than $70 billion for what it’s worth. According to the stats of Forbes magazine published in March, Zuckerberg individually has a total net worth at $13.5 billion. Initially the first lawsuit filed by Ceglia in July last year, stated his allegation of being contracted with Zuckerberg for being the owner of 84% stake in Facebook. Whereas, the lawsuit was amended recently and now the complaint reads Ceglia to be calling himself a 50% stake holder and stats that he can also provide evidence, which he states to be emails between himself and Zuckerberg.
Responding to the claims filed in the complaint at the court, Facebook asserted that the company "specifically deny any liability" to Ceglia, and labeled the lawsuit to be "a brazen and outrageous fraud on the court." They also highlighted the question that why did Ceglia wait for seven years before suing Facebook, wondering why he had been "utterly silent" for the time being when Facebook "grew into one of the world's best-known companies."
Records also show that Ceglia has previously pleaded guilty in 1997 to a possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Texas. While in 2009, he was also accused for fraud which resulted in his business being shut down. After the controversial and ongoing legal action of Facebook and Zuckerberg with the Winklevoss, which accused Zuckerberg for stealing their idea, this new lawsuit is an added problem for the company.
No comments:
Post a Comment