Sebastopol attorney accuses Facebook of defaming him

A Sebastopol attorney is taking on Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, alleging the social networking giant defamed him by suggesting he tried to help a client defraud the company.

Attorney Paul Argentieri was one of several lawyers representing New York resident Paul Ceglia, who claimed Zuckerberg signed a contract in college entitling Ceglia to a half-stake in the company.

Ceglia’s suit was dismissed amid evidence that he forged the document, and he later was indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges. He is at large.

Last year, Facebook sued Ceglia’s lawyers, including Argentieri, alleging they knew the contract was bogus but pursued the claim anyway. Those allegations are the basis for Argentieri’s defamation claim, which accuses Facebook of damaging his reputation and attacking his “integrity, honesty and professionalism as a lawyer.”

The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, also maintains the contract was real and offers as proof statements from a host of experts who, it says, support Ceglia’s original claim.

“They claimed that it was a forgery, but the evidence is overwhelming that the document is authentic and always has been,” Argentieri’s lawyer, Joseph Alioto, said Tuesday.

Argentieri, who practices in upstate New York but lives in Sebastopol, declined to comment Tuesday, saying his lawsuit was “self-explanatory.”

A Facebook spokeswoman blasted the claims, calling them “patently frivolous” but declining further comment.

According to Argentieri’s suit, Ceglia and Zuckerberg entered a contract in 2003 while Zuckerberg was at Harvard that entitled Ceglia to a share of what became Facebook. The popular website, launched in 2004, generated $12.5 billion in revenue last year. The company was valued at $273 billion on Tuesday.

Ceglia sued in 2010, alleging breach of contract. He hired Argentieri, who had offices in Hornell, N.Y., and later retained other firms including DLA Piper.

After the case was thrown out and Ceglia was indicted, Facebook sued, alleging malicious prosecution and seeking damages. The case is ongoing.

Argentieri alleges the lawsuit amounts to libel because it accuses him of wrongdoing. His suit points to out-of-court statements to the media by Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch:

“We said from the beginning that Paul Ceglia’s claim was a fraud and that we would seek to hold those responsible accountable,” Stretch is quoted as saying. “DLA Piper and other named law firms knew the case was based on forged documents, yet they pursued it anyway. They should be held to account.”

Argentieri’s lawsuit argues the statement is libelous because he produced “competent evidence” to prove a contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg. He claims his case is supported by nine forensic and other experts who have provided sworn statements attesting to the contract’s validity.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Paul Payne at 568-5312 or ?paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.