Summary:
On June 30, 2010, Paul Ceglia, the owner of a wood pellet fuel company in Allegany County, New York, filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg, claiming 84% ownership of Facebook as well as additional monetary damages. The judge eventually dismissed Ceglia's claim as fraudulent.
Allegations:
- According to Paul Ceglia, he had signed a contract with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckernerg in 2003 to develop and design a website. The terms of contract entitled Ceglia to a $1,000 fee and a 50 percent stake in the product, which eventually was launched as 'thefacebook.com', according to the lawsuit.
- The contract also stated that Ceglia "would acquire an additional 1 percent interest in the business, per day, until the website was completed,” and the suit said that by February 4, 2004, Ceglia’s stake in Facebook totalled 84 percent.
- Ceglia said he was seeking "declaratory judgment that defines ownership rights" (84% ownership over the social networking company) and monetary damages according to court officials.
Defence:
- Facebook called the suit completely frivolous. The company asked the federal court to strike down the Allegany Court Judge Thomas Brown's order which restricted the transfer of Facebook assets.
- Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "If we said that we were unsure, I think that was likely taken out of context because I think we were quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over Facebook," rubbishing all ownership claims by Ceglia.