14 DAY TRIAL // Last week we got wind of a lawsuit against Facebook, or rather its cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, by a man now claiming an 84 percent stake in the giant social network based on a contract Zuckerberg allegedly signed in 2003.
While it seemed nothing more than a frivolous pursuit, big targets like Facebook attract these kind of lawsuits, there may be more to it than it was initially believed. It now appears that Zuckerberg may have actually worked for the man around that time, albeit for an unrelated project. And there are some answered questions as well.
For its part, Facebook’s lawyer, Lisa Simpson, didn’t dismiss the contract outright, but couldn’t say for certain if it was legitimate either. “Whether he signed this piece of paper, we’re unsure at this moment,” she told the court.
The contract in question covers a project Zuckerberg was contracted for by Paul Ceglia, the man in question, dubbed StreetFax, but also a second website called PageBook. Zuckerberg was to be paid $1,000 for the first project as well as an additional $1,000 for the second one. Ceglia produced just one checkbook receipt for $1,000 paid to Zuckerberg.
Facebook said there are inconsistencies and other issues with the contract and will look into the matter. It didn’t dismiss it completely so there may be something to it after all.
All of this was revealed in a court hearing yesterday. The hearing was to decide if a temporary injunction on the sale or transfer of any Facebook assets was to stand. The matter was resolved with both parties agreeing for the injunction to be dropped starting July 23.
Ceglia claims to have an 84 percent stake in Facebook based on the contract. The contract does mention a “The Face Book” project. While the authenticity of the paper hasn’t been verified, it may not matter as it may too old to pursue, under New York’s statute of limitations. Ceglia offered no explanation why he only came forward with the contract six years after the fact.