I have to say one of the most impressive companies in the world at the moment is Facebook. They are probably one of the very few mega-websites that are still growing month-to-month. But there is a problem, and it was bound to happen: Paul Ceglia.

In short: Paul Ceglia, an self-described environmentalist from NY, and someone who has been arrested for defrauding his clients by selling non-existent wood-pellets, claims that he owns 84% of Facebook. Hmmm… How? He claims that he gave $1000 for Zuckerberg back in 2003 as an investment in 50% of a project called “The Face Book”, with an additional 1%/day after January 1, 2004, until the project is finished. Facebook at first did not deny the claim, but then slowly they started seeing the seriousness of the issue, and they started denying it and accusing Paul of being a fraudster, an accusation the NYPD would probably agree with. There are some mixed reports on Facebook assets being frozen until this lawsuit is settled.

Paul even stated that he doesn’t want 84%, he just wants to settle outside the court, which is something that Facebook is refusing. My question to Paul, why don’t you want the 84%? After all, assuming that your claim is right, you gave Zuckerberg a $1000 7 years ago for a company that is worth $30,000,000,000 ($30 billion) now. My question to Facebook, why are you refusing to settle? A few million dollars won’t hurt you, that’s a day’s work. The guy needs the money, and he’ll just go away when he has it. Naturally, there’s a huge media circus surrounding this story.

Whatever it is, I am sure that no Facebook IPO will happen as long as this lawsuit exists (everything would crumble if, God forbids, Ceglia wins the case). In any case, a lawsuit of this size, if not settled, may drag for years, especially if it attracts vultures, who will seek their 15 minutes of fame.

If there’s a 1% chance that what this guy is saying is correct, then Facebook should settle, or else the consequence would be really dire.