Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was sued by a real estate developer for breaching their contract in 2014. The plaintiff has decided to drop the case and will get no money from the social media mogul.
Zuckerberg was given the right to buy a property on Hamilton Avenue by Mircea Voskerician for a discounted price. The deal is for Zuckerberg to introduce Voskerician to other wealthy people in Silicon Valley who might want to purchase houses from the developer. But to his dismay, the Facebook CEO never followed up on the deal as per the Mercury News.
Due to privacy issues, Zuckerberg paid the developer $1.7 million for those rights after he planned to build a large mansion on it. The developer claimed that other people offered him $4.3 million to take over the deal but turned it down for Zuckerberg's promise and for him to further expand his business.
According to Patrick Gunn, Zuckerberg's attorney, Voskerician's decision to abandon the case is a clear indication that it was just a fraudulent attempt to extort millions of dollars from his client. He added that the plaintiff was just relying on doctored evidence to support his case. As reported by Bloomberg, Zuckerberg's lawyers pushed for a court order which requires the plaintiff to answer the queries about his bank statements.
Voskerician's lawyer, Guyton Jinkerson, said that upon careful reflection, they have determined that the case should be resolved. They have already worked with the counsel for the defendant to reach an equitable settlement of the matter. He added that they are pleased that both sides have brought an end to the litigation, according to NDTV.
As part of the settlement, Zuckerberg has agreed not to sue back. A trial has been scheduled in Santa Clara County Superior Court on April 25 but Jinkerson requested that the case be dismissed on Tuesday.
