 "Zuckerberg sues lawyers who aided phony ownership claim")
Facebook Inc and CEO Mark Zuckerberg sued DLA Piper LLP and other lawyers they claim colluded with Paul Ceglia in a fraudulent multibillion-dollar claim to half the social network.
Facebook and Zuckerberg on Tuesday sued four firms and nine lawyers who represented Ceglia in the lawsuit he filed in federal court in Buffalo, New York. In addition to DLA Piper, one of the biggest law firms in the world, the defendants include former New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco and New York-based Milberg LLP.
Ceglia and the lawyers "conspired to file and prosecute a fraudulent lawsuit against Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, based on fabricated evidence, for the purpose of extorting a lucrative and unwarranted settlement," the company and its co-founder said in a complaint filed on Tuesday in state court in Manhattan.
Lawsuit dismissed
Ceglia's suit was dismissed in March, after a judge determined the claim was fraudulent and that Ceglia had forged a 2003 contract with Zuckerberg and created phony e-mails between the two men. Ceglia, who is appealing the dismissal, faces federal fraud charges in Manhattan based on the claim against Facebook.
Ceglia sued Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2010, claiming he was due 84 per cent of the company. He later reduced the demand to half. Paul Argentieri, the Hornell, New York, lawyer who filed the original claim, was also named as a defendant in the Facebook suit. He declined to comment on the allegations.
From the start of the case, Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, argued that the claim was fraudulent.
Facebook and Zuckerberg on Tuesday sued four firms and nine lawyers who represented Ceglia in the lawsuit he filed in federal court in Buffalo, New York. In addition to DLA Piper, one of the biggest law firms in the world, the defendants include former New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco and New York-based Milberg LLP.
Ceglia and the lawyers "conspired to file and prosecute a fraudulent lawsuit against Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, based on fabricated evidence, for the purpose of extorting a lucrative and unwarranted settlement," the company and its co-founder said in a complaint filed on Tuesday in state court in Manhattan.
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Facebook claims the lawyers continued to represent Ceglia even after another member of the legal team told them he'd discovered the authentic contract, which makes no mention of Facebook, on Ceglia's computer. Facebook seeks unspecified damages for abuse of process and triple damages for attorney misconduct.
Lawsuit dismissed
Ceglia's suit was dismissed in March, after a judge determined the claim was fraudulent and that Ceglia had forged a 2003 contract with Zuckerberg and created phony e-mails between the two men. Ceglia, who is appealing the dismissal, faces federal fraud charges in Manhattan based on the claim against Facebook.
Ceglia sued Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2010, claiming he was due 84 per cent of the company. He later reduced the demand to half. Paul Argentieri, the Hornell, New York, lawyer who filed the original claim, was also named as a defendant in the Facebook suit. He declined to comment on the allegations.
From the start of the case, Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, argued that the claim was fraudulent.