user: Q: Winklevosses Find No Friend in Federal Judge in their Facebook Settlement Appeal

The Winklevosses get paddled by federal judge

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’s attempt to appeal their $65 million settlement with Facebook got smacked down by Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit of Appeals today. That means there’s no need to change the closing credits on the DVD version of The Social Network.

The twins had hoped to convince a court to overturn ConnectU’s deal with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook composed of $20 million in cash and 1.2 million Facebook shares. The twins claimed Facebook had knowingly overvalued the worth of its shares during the negotiation (saying they were worth around $35 when they were worth closer to $8 at the time), diluting the deal.

In his opinion, Judge Kozinski says that between the ConnectU’s high-priced lawyers and the twin’s father (a former accounting professor at Wharton, and an expert in valuation), the twins had the resources they needed to come to a fair settlement.

“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,” wrote Kozinski in his opinion [PDF]. “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.”

Kozinski cites a Wall Street Journal article that estimates the current share price for Facebook at “3.33 times the value the Winklevosses claim they thought Facebook’s shares were worth at the mediation.”

Kozinski ends the opinion saying, “At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached.” That led my former Above the Law colleague, David Lat, to observe, “Ouch. The Winklevii (or Winklevi?) haven’t been slapped around that hard since then-Harvard president Larry Summers threw them out of his office.”

But apparently, the litigation hasn’t come to an end quite yet. Some people have a really hard time dealing with rejection. The Winklevi aren’t content with this paddling, and want the whole Ninth Circuit panel to weigh in. TechCrunch says their lawyer plans to appeal (again) — meaning even more of their settlement will be going toward paying lawyers’ bills.

A: Federal judge says that ConnectU and the Winklevoss twins must accept the deal they made with Facebook.


Q:
Apple iWatch Coming in September, But You'll Have to Wait to Buy It, Report Says
UPDATED: 4:25 p.m. ET: In the run-up to Apple’s Sept. 9 event, iWatch leaks are turning into a torrent of information. According to Re/Code, Apple has considered charging $400 for its wearable device, with lower prices for different models. This report is not a confirmation of the final price, but more of a well-sourced hint at the price range that consumers might expect when the iWatch finally hits retail stores.

Put that hammer away! Don't smash your poor, inadequate watches just yet.

As it turns out, an earlier report that said Apple's iWatch will arrive in September has been updated with a very important caveat: You'll have to wait to buy it.

Re/Code, the same website that revealed Apple's wearable device will debut at the company's now confirmed September event, reported on Friday that the so-called iWatch will only be "announced," and not offered for sale at the event.

Citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation, Re/Code said the iWatch is “not shipping anytime soon,” with actual retail availability not coming until sometime after the holidays, possibly early 2015.

A staggered launch after the announcement of a major new mobile product wouldn't be without precedent for Apple. The original iPhone wasn't available to consumers until months after its unveiling. Despite that delay, giving competitors time to rush to offer similar alternatives, Apple still managed to become the standard bearer for what we call a smartphone today.

And while some might be disappointed by the news, a look at the recent history of iWatch rumors would appear to support this updated narrative. A report back in June claimed the iWatch would begin production in July for release in October.

So while the June report suggested that an iWatch might be available this year, the previously reported manufacturing window of July — just two months before September — would make it very difficult for Apple to get its wearable device on our wrists in several weeks.

We still don't know exactly when the iWatch will be available in stores, but it's likely that we'll at least get a peek at Apple's new wearable in just a few weeks.

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assistant: The Apple iWatch is still expected to debut next month, but a new report says you'll have to wait months in order to buy it.