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Judge recommends dismissal of Facebook case

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:21 PM PDT

A federal judge on Tuesday recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit against Facebook Inc in which Paul Ceglia, an upstate New York wood pellet salesman, claimed a huge ownership stake in the social media company.

US Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio said there is "clear and convincing evidence" that an alleged 2003 contract with Mark Zuckerberg, now Facebook's chief executive, that Ceglia claimed entitled him to a one-half interest in the company is a "recently created fabrication."

In October, federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced criminal mail and wire fraud charges against Ceglia, whom US Attorney Preet Bharara accused of seeking "a quick pay day based on a blatant forgery."

Ceglia, who has lived in Wellsville, New York, pleaded not guilty. Each criminal charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Paul Argentieri, a lawyer for Ceglia, was not immediately available on Tuesday for comment.

In his 2010 civil lawsuit, Ceglia claimed that a 2003 contract he signed with Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University freshman, entitled him to the Facebook stake.

Though Zuckerberg had done programming work for Ceglia's company StreetFax.com, Facebook maintained that a separate agreement involving that entity, which did not entitle Ceglia to a big Facebook stake, was the real contract between the two.

In a 155-page recommendation, Foschio said Ceglia's arguments largely consisted of "self-defeating inconsistencies" that established the "fraudulent nature" of his claims.

"Plaintiff has utterly failed to rebut the plethora of evidence establishing that it is highly probable and reasonable the StreetFax document was the operative contract," the Buffalo, New York-based judge wrote.

Foschio also said it is "highly probable and reasonably certain" that the contract Ceglia said was real was "fabricated for the express purpose of filing the instant action."

The case now goes to US District Judge Richard Arcara, who will decide whether to approve Foschio's recommendation.

Colin Stretch, deputy general counsel of Facebook, said in a statement that Foschio's recommendation "confirms what we have said from day one: this lawsuit is an inexcusable fraud based on
forged documents."

Facebook's market value is now about US$60 billion.

The accusations against Facebook and Zuckerberg had been an unusual distraction during the Menlo Park, California-based company's march toward its May 2012 initial public offering.

Facebook's origin was also the focus of separate litigation by Zuckerberg's twin Harvard classmates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, chronicled in the 2010 movie "The Social Network."

Ceglia claimed that Zuckerberg shared his plans for a social networking website while working at StreetFax, and contracted to give him a stake in exchange for a US$1,000 investment.

To build his case, Ceglia submitted what he said were emails from Zuckerberg that proved the pair discussed the project that eventually became Facebook.

But Facebook said Zuckerberg did not even conceive of the idea for a social media company until December 2003.

Its lawyers said Ceglia had produced fraudulent documents, citing work by forensic experts who concluded that he had typed text into a Microsoft Word document, and declared it the text of emails with Zuckerberg in 2004.

Ceglia went through a string of lawyers from prominent firms, including DLA Piper and Milberg, who worked with him on various parts of the civil case but later withdrew.

Earlier this month, Ceglia filed a separate civil lawsuit against Bharara and US Attorney General Eric Holder to halt the criminal case.

The civil case is Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al, US District Court, Western District of New York, No. 10-00569. The lawsuit against Bharara and Holder is Ceglia v. Holder et al in the same court, No. 13-00256. The criminal case is US v. Ceglia, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No 12-cr-00876.-- Reuters

Facebook expands ad targeting system

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 06:51 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc is expanding the advertising system that lets marketers tailor messages to users of the No.1 social network based on their browsing history, in the company's latest step to refine its ad business.

So far, the system has been used to target graphical display ads on the right side of a Facebook user's page, based on websites visited in the past, such as for products or potential vacation destinations.

The move announced on Tuesday will incorporate this system, called Facebook Exchange, to the ads in Facebook's News Feed.

It ties together two of the most significant innovations that Facebook Inc has made in the past year to its advertising business, which accounts for roughly 84 per cent of the company's revenue.

Marketers last year welcomed the launch of Facebook Exchange as it provided a common online advertising technique long missing on the social network.

Ads that appear directly within the Facebook News Feed are considered crucial to its future business prospects since they can be seen on mobile devices such as smartphones. About two-thirds of Facebook users accessed the site on a mobile device in December.

Facebook said the Facebook Exchange system will initially be available for newsfeed ads that appear on desktop PCs but not on mobile devices.

"Desktop is more in line with what FBX (Facebook Exchange) has been doing effectively in the right hand side. And we also find that desktop is the place where more people convert from seeing direct-response ads," said Facebook spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana.

The company is testing the new service with a limited set of partners, with plans for broader availability in the coming weeks.

Shares of Facebook closed 7 cents higher at US$25.21 on Nasdaq.-- Reuters

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Supreme Court justices raise doubts on California gay marriage ban - Chicago Tribune

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:44 AM PDT

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today on California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Kris Perry and Sandy Stier and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the ban. (March 26)

WASHINGTON -- As the Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on the delicate and divisive issue of gay marriage, Chief Justice John Roberts expressed doubt that California opponents of gay marriage had a right to be heard in federal court.

U.S. citizens in general do not have a right to sue to enforce laws they favor. Roberts pressed lawyer Charles Cooper, who represents gay marriage opponents, on why his clients are any different as they seek to enforce California's gay marriage ban, known as Proposition 8.

"I don't think we've ever allowed anything like that," Roberts said in the first half of an hour of scheduled argument.

If Cooper's clients lack the right to appear, known as standing, the Supreme Court may not reach the central question of gay marriage rights.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who like Roberts is seen as a potential swing vote, pressed Cooper. Kennedy used one of his questions to focus on the "imminent legal injury" facing 40,000 California children being raised by gay and lesbian couples.

"They want their parents to have full recognition and full status," he said.

Cooper, facing a barrage of questions mostly from the Supreme Court's liberal wing, called California's law the equivalent of a "pause button."

A ruling that finds a fundamental right to marry for gays and lesbians would unfairly cut off spirited public debate nationwide, Cooper said.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg pounded Cooper for linking marriage to child-bearing, with Kagan asking if states could also prohibit couples over age 55 from getting married. Cooper responded that even in that case, at least one member of the marriage would likely still be fertile, a suggestion that drew laughter from the courtroom.

This morning's 80-minute exchange opened the first of two days of oral arguments on gay marriage before the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the court will consider the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which limits the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples. Rulings in both cases are expected by the end of June.

Over the two days of arguments, the justices will have their say on what gay activists see as a civil rights issue reminiscent of famous Supreme Court cases of the past, including Loving v. Virginia, a 1967 case in which the court invalidated bans on interracial marriage.

The cases come before the high court at a time when more states have legalized gay marriage. Last year three more - Maryland, Maine and Washington - did so, bringing the total to nine plus the District of Columbia.

"Never before in our history has a major civil rights issue landed on the doorstep of the Supreme Court with this wave of public support," said Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for opponents of Proposition 8.

Strong opposition to gay marriage still exists, however, both among Republicans in Congress and in many states. A total of 30 states, including California, have constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage. Nine states, including California, recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships among same-sex couples.

Reuters and David G. Savage and Noam N. Levey, Tribune Washington Bureau

Amanda Knox faces Italy retrial over Kercher slaying - USA TODAY

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:51 AM PDT

ROME -- American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, must be retried for the 2007 death of British exchange student Meredith Kercher, Italy's highest court ruled Tuesday.

The Italian Supreme Court overturned the pair's acquittal and ordered an appeals court in Florence to rehear the high-profile case that attracted international attention. Knox and Sollecito initially had been convicted of murder and served four years in prison before they were acquitted on appeal in 2011.

Knox, 25, issued a statement through a family spokesman that said it was "painful" to have the acquittal overturned but that she was "confident" about the truth.

"The prosecution responsible for the many discrepancies in their work must be made to answer for them, for Raffaele's sake, my sake, and most especially for the sake of Meredith's family. Our hearts go out to them," the statement said. "No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity."

Kercher's family attorney, Francesco Maresca, said after ruling: "Yes, this is what we wanted."

Sollecito's attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, noted that Tuesday's ruling was not a determination of guilt for his 29-year-old client, but merely a need for further study of the appeals court ruling.

Legal experts will now try to gauge the likelihood of Knox, who attends the University of Washington in Seattle, being extradited to Italy to stand trial. The fact that she had been acquitted may complicate the case.

A 2010 Congressional Research Service Report says most U.S. extradition treaties allow or require that extradition be denied under certain circumstances, including "crimes barred by double jeopardy."

Since the U.S. Constitution prohibits successive prosecutions for the same offense -- double jeopardy -- but some other countries do not, "it is common for extradition treaties to contain clauses proscribing extradition when the transferee would face double punishment and/or double jeopardy," the report says.

Giorgio Spangher, head of the law school at Rome's Sapienza University, said that the case hasn't actually been reopened. Instead, the 2011 appeal that acquitted Knox and Sollecito was annulled.

He said that Knox cannot be compelled to raeturn to Italy but can choose to do so voluntarily. If she's convicted in absentia, Italy could request her extradition.

"We have to wait and see what she decides to do, but if she were my client I would not advise her to return for this case," said Spangher.

Kercher's body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and other roommates in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students. The 21-year-old's throat had been slashed.

Prosecutors argued that Kercher, from south London, was killed as a result of a sex game that went amiss.

Knox, then 20, and Sollecito, then 24, were prosecuted and found guilty of killing Kercher. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison; Sollecito got 25 years. They were released four years later, in October 2011, after their convictions were overturned.

An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence.

Reaction to Tuesday's ruling was mixed in Italy, befitting a case that captivated people from the U.S., the United Kingdom and Italy.

Enrico Campione, 50, an art restorer from Rome, said: "The poor girl. I don't know if she's innocent or guilty, but they had two trials already and they should know that. If she's guilty she should be punished, of course. But I feel bad for her that she can't put his behind her."

Sabina De Tomaso, 29, a restaurant worker, said: "I had a feeling she was guilty before and she got off because she had expensive lawyers and they found technical problems. I hope they will find the truth now."

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard reported from London; Associated Press

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Selasa, 26 Mac 2013