Facebook, Zuckerburg Victorious on Appeal Against Winklevoss Brothers

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that former Harvard University schoolmates of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can’t undo their settlement over creation of the social networking site, yahoo reports.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, potrayed in the Oscar-nominated film “The Social Network,” argued their settlement with Facebook was unfair because the company hid information from them during talks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.  In the case styled Facebook Inc v. ConnectU Inc., a three judge panel determined that the Winklevoss brothers were sophisticated negotiators aided by a team of lawyers, and therefore savvy enough to understand what they were agreeing to when they signed the agreement with Facebook in 2008. “At some point, litigation must come to an end,” Judge Kozinski wrote. “That point has now been reached.”

The deal called for a $20 million cash payment and a partial ownership of Facebook. The settlement is now worth more than $160 million because of Facebook’s increased valuation. An attorney for the brothers, Jerome Falk Jr., said on Monday his clients would seek a rehearing before a larger, “en banc” group of 9th Circuit judges – which could overturn the three judge panel’s decision.