Winklevoss twins press Facebook case in Boston federal court after dropping Supreme Court appeal
As the old saying goes, it ain't over until it's over. — And Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are not finished with Facebook yet. The dramatic seven-year legal feud that inspired “The Social Network” may have one last plot twist.
Context & Ripple Effects
The arc here runs through two rulings: on April 11, 2011 a federal appeals panel held that the twins must accept their Facebook settlement, rejecting their bid to void it over claims they were misled about the company's valuation during mediation. That same day they vowed to keep fighting, and the next step was an appeal toward the Supreme Court.
On June 22 they abandoned that appeal — Reuters reported the twins giving up the last appellate avenue on the original settlement — yet within a day they were pressing a fresh case against Facebook in Boston federal court. After seven years of litigation that inspired 'The Social Network,' the dispute is shifting from challenging the old deal to opening a new front.
First-order effects
- Facebook cannot bank the finality of its 2008-era settlement just yet: even with the twins' Supreme Court appeal abandoned, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are now plaintiffs again in Boston federal court, keeping the company's legal exposure — and discovery obligations — alive.
Second-order effects
- A parallel suit after a court has ordered a settlement enforced tests how much protection an upheld settlement actually gives a defendant: if the Boston route proceeds, every party to a negotiated founder buyout — including Facebook in future disputes — faces plaintiffs who treat settlement as one battle, not the war.
Third-order effects
- If this venue-hopping pattern holds, high-stakes founder equity disputes will increasingly outlive their settlements, pushing companies like Facebook to price litigation risk into early equity resolutions rather than treat signed deals as endpoints.
The trend: Founder-versus-company equity feuds are becoming multi-venue campaigns, where losing an appeal no longer ends the fight but relocates it.