Thinks look gloomy for the guy who claims he owns half of Facebook
Let's mediate, says Paul Ceglia's lawyer, as his client remains in Ireland. But Facebook team say there will be NO settlement.
Over four hours in court in Buffalo , his lawyers lost one pretrial motion after another in his lawsuit seeking half ownership of the social network.
Judge Leslie Foschio ordered Ceglia to provide detailed explanations to Facebook lawyers on how Ceglia lost five computer thumb drives that allegedly contain important information about his claim to be co-founder of the website.
As the hearing ended, Ceglia's lawyer Jeffrey Lake asked the judge to refer the lawsuit to a mediator, who would oversee discussions that could lead to an out-of-court settlement.
To the Facebook legal team, said the Buffalo News, "Lake’s request was seen as an act of desperation from a lawyer who knows his case is going nowhere."
Orin Snyder, the lead attorney for Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, said “They’re desperate to mediate, now that their case has exploded." The noose was tightening around Ceglia’s neck, he said.
Lake said he did not know why his client went to Ireland or how long he plans to stay. He disagreed that Ceglia wants to settle the case because he knows it is doomed.
“I disagree with that. I’m being reasonable, and I invite open discussion,” Lake said. There will be no settlement of any kind, said Snyder.
Ceglia sued last year claiming that he and Zuckerberg entered into a partnership in 2003 in Boston. The two did work in Boston together on a street-mapping project - before Facebook existed. But Ceglia claim the contract they signed makes him a 50 percent owner of Facebook.
The lawsuit may not go to trial for months, possibly years. Facebook attorneys say they have “smoking gun” evidence that a purported 2003 contract that Ceglia has presented to the court is a fraud.They hope to get the case dismissed before any trial.
This week Ceglia sent an e-mail to technology web-site ZDNet.com. In it he accused Facebook of manufacturing evidence against him.
“It’s laughable,” Ceglia said in the email. “They make this stuff up as they go along.”