It might not be baseball, but Facebook hit all the home runs and the Winklevoss twins struck out in the contentious law suit they brought against the social network giant. Their ConnectU, aka Harvard Connection, social networking site didn?t win the day over its alleged offshoot, Facebook.
Baseball Score Card for Winklevoos Brothers
A settlement previously reached by the brothers with Zuckerberg, creator and founder of Facebook, will stand. After losing their first case, Winklevoss et al went for an appeal. In this case, it was strike two you?re out. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals would not overturn the lower court?s ruling. Judge Alex Kozinski indicated that the twins were not the first to try to achieve in a lawsuit what they could not achieve in the marketplace when, as the court put it, they were bested by a competitor. Apparently tired of the squabbling, the judges said, "At some point litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached."
The settlement the Plaintiffs were trying to set aside had already given them a large win – $20 million cash and $45 million worth of stock. They claim Zuckerberg hoodwinked them as to the value of the stock. Judge John Wallace countered that Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss had a lot going for them: a team of lawyers, a top mediator, and university degrees of their own. He painted the twins, as well as their father who is out of Wharton School, as being very bright. Reading between the lines, they could not credibly claim they were taken advantage of.
The background to this drama played out in the Oscar nominated movie, Social Network. In their on-going saga before today’s verdict, the plaintiffs told CNN’s Piers Morgan in February that it was more about principal than money. At that time, they said: "The good thing is that we don’t think the story is fully told yet." Oh, but as of today, it is.
Winklevoss – Olympic hopefuls lose in US Court of Appeals
The Winklevoss twins who rowed for the US Olympic team are now up a creek without a paddle. Their complaints continue to fall on deaf ears and they are getting no sympathy. Their stock is now reportedly valued at around
$140 million. Dry those crocodile tears.
