Winklevoss Twins, Narendra, Set Sights on Supreme Court
According to Forbes, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra want to sing their tale of Facebook woes at the national level. Nope, they're not going to be on Idol. Rather, we'll be entertained by their litigation antics, as Narendra and the Winklevoss twins are now eyeing the United States Supreme Court to plead their case in their ongoing Facebook lawsuit.
Earlier this week, the Winklevoss twins were denied their petition for a rehearing en banc by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In fact, Judge Alex Kozinski went one step further in his written opinion and actually reprimanded the Winklevoss twins, stating that "litigation must come to an end."
The “Winklevii” clearly didn’t get that memo. In fact, their law firm, Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin PC, has actually issued a press release to that extent, stating that they planned to trudge their Facebook lawsuit all the way to the top.
The case before the District Court (and subsequently, the Ninth Circuit) dealt with the Settlement Agreement reached between the parties back in 2008. The Winklevoss twins and Narendra are claiming that the value of the shares they received in the 2008 settlement was four times less than what it should have been, based on what they allege is a Rule 10b-5 violation (aka securities fraud) by Facebook. They also raised contract law issues, claiming that the essential terms of the Settlement Agreement were not included at the time the settlement was entered into.
Essentially, they are claiming that Facebook cheated them in the original settlement.
The question on everyone’s mind now is whether the Winklevii and Narendra actually realize their slim chances of their Facebook lawsuit being heard by the United States Supreme Court. According to the Financial Post, citing the George Mason Law Review, about 95% of Certiorari Petitions are rejected by the United States Supreme Court.
Says Howard Rice: “The Court’s decision shut the courthouse door to a solid claim that Facebook obtained this settlement by committing securities fraud. Our Petition to the Supreme Court will ask the high court to decide whether that door should be reopened.”
Related Resources
- Winklevoss Twins, Facebook Lawsuit: Ninth Circuit Denies Review (FindLaw’s Ninth Circuit Blog)
- Court Tosses Winklevoss Twins’ Facebook Appeal (FindLaw’s Decided)
- Winklevoss Petition for Rehearing en Banc (FindLaw’s Courtside)