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from the won't-anyone-think-of-the-lawyers? dept.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is taking Shakespeare's phrase "let's kill all the lawyers" to a different level. On Monday, he sued many of the attorneys who represented a New Yorker named Paul Ceglia, the man who claimed Zuckerberg promised him half of Facebook back when Zuckerberg was an 18-year-old Harvard University student.
"The lawyers representing Ceglia knew or should have known that the lawsuit was a fraud—it was brought by a convicted felon with a history of fraudulent scams, and it was based on an implausible story and obviously forged documents. In fact, Defendants’ own co-counsel discovered the fraud, informed the other lawyers, and withdrew. Despite all this, Defendants vigorously pursued the case in state and federal courts and in the media," Facebook said in a New York Supreme Court suit [PDF].
Ceglia faces trial next year on accusations that his lawsuit—in which he claimed half ownership of Facebook—was a fraud. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a maximum 40-year prison term if convicted.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 21 2014, @11:39PM
...having so much money that you can actually afford to use the legal system.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday October 22 2014, @03:34AM
I get the Ceglia's suit was dismissed because it was thought there was fraud or forgery involved, but then again, he really actually did hire Zuckerberg to do some programming for him and I could certainly imagine that he might have gotten a pitch from Z for money. It may well be that Ceglia's screw up was to try to make his case stronger by faking some additional documents, but by getting caught, the truth got thrown out with lies. One thing is certain, Z can hire as many lawyers and expert witnesses as he wants, and you can certainly buy experts who'll swear to one thing or another and come up with reasons to state that the documents are forged. And Z's latest ploy, going after the lawyers themselves, is an obvious means of deterring other lawyers from suing him in other suits which may be perfectly legitimate beefs. Anyway, short of killing children and posting videos on facebook, Z can do whatever he wants.