Facebook has a legal crisis

SOCIAL NOTWORKING service Facebook is in a panic after a New York judge has blocked the transfer of any of its assets until it responds to a lawsuit by a web developer who claims to own 84 per cent of the company.

According to AFP, Paul Ceglia said he signed a contract with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2003 to develop and design a website. Under the terms of the contract Ceglia was entitled to a $1,000 fee and a 50 percent stake in the product, which Zuckerberg eventually launched as thefacebook.com.

The contract allegedly stipulated that Ceglia "would acquire an additional 1 percent interest in the business, per day, until the website was completed and this added up to 84 percent".

Facebook says the suit is frivolous and wants Allegany Court Judge Thomas Brown's recent order restricting the transfer of Facebook assets struck down.

The social notworking site said it will not be stuffed up by the order and that it didn't think the lawsuit would stand up in court.

The press has not been too kind to Ceglia, of Wellsville, New York. Included in the AFP story is a mention of a complaint against Ceglia that was filed last year.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo obtained a temporary restraining order against a wood-pellet fuel company owned by the web developer. Cuomo claimed that the outfit took $200,000 from customers and failed to deliver any products or refunds. µ