A man who claims to own one-half of Facebook and his Ohio attorney have each been sanctioned $1,000 and ordered to turn over a letter from a New York law firm that ostensibly concludes the plaintiff is a fraud. In an order yesterday, Western District Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio (See Profile) gave Paul Ceglia and attorney Dean Boland three days to reveal the so-called “Kasowitz letter.” The letter was apparently sent from the Manhattan firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, which previously represented Ceglia in a claim against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to two other firms that also had represented CegliaDLA Piper and Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman.
According to Foschio’s order, the Kasowitz letter advises DLA and Lippes Mathias that it is withdrawing from the matter because it determined that a purported contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg is a fraud. Ceglia has been claiming for years that he developed Facebook along with Zuckerberg and is entitled to a share of the company.
