Winklevoss twins chastised by judge in Facebook ruling

Facebook pretenders to the throne Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been dealt another blow in their fight to squeeze more money out of the massively profitable social network.

The pair were slapped with a ruling today in which a judge requested they please quit haranguing the courts in the matter of their original Facebook deal. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski didn’t mince words in issuing the opinion regarding the ongoing litigation:

The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace. And the courts might have obliged, had the Winklevosses not settled their dispute and signed a release of all claims against Facebook. With the help of a team of lawyers and a financial advisor, they made a deal that appears quite favorable in light of recent market activity. For whatever reason, they now want to back out. Like the district court, we see no basis for allowing them to do so.

At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached.

General Deputy Counsel for Facebook Colin Stretch commented:

“We appreciate the 9th Circuit’s careful consideration of this case and are pleased the court has ruled in Facebook’s favor.”

Neither Winklevoss was available for comment on the ruling.

[LAT, Image]