Update: They’ve filed another lawsuit. False alarm: Winklevoss twins to continue fighting Facebook.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s former Harvard classmates Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, who accuse him of stealing their idea for the social network, have decided not to appeal to the US Supreme Court. In a filing today with the federal court in San Francisco, the duo said that after “careful consideration,” they decided not to seek Supreme Court review of the $65 million settlement made in 2008, according to Reuters.
The Winklevoss twins, along with Divya Narendra, started a company called ConnectU while at Harvard. They say Zuckerberg stole their idea and created Facebook, an allegation the company vehemently denies. The trio originally agreed to the aforementioned settlement in 2008, but ever since they have been trying to argue that, based on an internal valuation that Facebook did not reveal, they should have received more Facebook shares as part of the deal. In other words, they wanted more than $65 million.
A lower court previously granted Facebook’s request to enforce the settlement with the Winklevoss twins and Narendra. Two months ago, a three-judge appeals court panel agreed and ruled that the Winklevoss twins must accept the cash and stock settlement with Facebook valued at $65 million.
Last month, Jerome Falk Jr., the twin’s attorney, said they would appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court, which would have been the last possible option. Now they’ve changed their mind. It appears that this is the end of Facebook’s longest legal saga: it has lasted seven years. Zuckerberg can breathe easy now, and his enemies have to deal with the terrible tragedy of figuring out how to spend $65 million.
“We’ve considered this case closed for a long time, and we’re pleased to see the other party now agrees,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
