Facebook ownership lawsuit: Another lawyer leaves

SAN FRANCISCO: The New York man claiming half of Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg's lucrative stake in the world's largest social networking company is replacing his main lawyer for a third time, a court filing showed.

Paul Ceglia, the plaintiff, asked US Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio in Buffalo, New York to delay his case for three weeks after allowing his lead lawyer, Jeffrey Lake, to withdraw from the case.

According to the Monday evening filing, Lake said Ceglia is in the "final stages" of obtaining a new lawyer, and is in talks with "several" lawyers who are "diligently coming up to speed with the facts and proceedings" to represent him.

Paul Argentieri, another lawyer for Ceglia, will remain on the case, Monday's filing showed. Lake did not give a reason for his withdrawal.

A call to Lake's office in San Diego was not answered, and Lake did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. Argentieri did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Facebook declined to comment.

The filing marks the latest twist in a year-old case over the authenticity of a 2003 contract under which Ceglia said he hired Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University freshman, for multiple projects, one of which eventually became Facebook.

The company calls that contract a forgery, and said an "authentic" contract found on Ceglia's computer does not concern Facebook.

Lake withdrew after Facebook asked Foschio to punish Ceglia and his lawyers for their failure to turn over email accounts and passwords, as the judge had directed in an August 18 order.

In an October 7 court filing, Lake had written that he had told Ceglia about the order, but that "Mr. Ceglia instructed me not to comply with this provision" and to raise the issue before a different judge.

A week later, Facebook said Ceglia's lawyers had a duty to resist their client's alleged effort to break the law, and might have violated state ethics rules by revealing what he said in an effort to protect themselves.

"If they fail to persuade their client to change direction, their proper course is to withdraw," Facebook lawyers wrote.

Lake had in June replaced the law firm DLA Piper as Ceglia's counsel. That firm previously replaced a different lawyer.

Earlier on Monday, Foschio had scheduled a November 2 hearing to consider whether to force Ceglia to comply with his August 18 order, which also gave Facebook access to computers and files and required Ceglia to describe the content of missing materials. That timetable is now in doubt.

Facebook is based in Palo Alto, California, and may be worth $68.2 billion, according to SharesPost Inc, which tracks valuations of private companies.

Many analysts expect Facebook to conduct an initial public offering as soon as next year. Zuckerberg is worth $17.5 billion, Forbes magazine said last month.

Ceglia is a wood pellet salesman from Wellsville, New York, and now reported to be living inIreland.

The case is Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al, US District Court, Western District of New York, No 10-00569.

Vijay Mallya's white house in the sky

BANGALORE: Mumbai can boast of Mukesh Ambani's $1 billion Antilla, Delhi has its Lutyens' patch, and now Bengaluru gets a billionaire's wonder - a White House in the sky.

Kingfisher Towers-Residences at UB City, the new home of India's flamboyant business tycoon, Vijay Mallya, as well as other billionaires is under way and will be completed in the next three years.

TOI, in its July 11, 2008, edition, was the first to break the news that Vijay Mallya was razing down his ancestral home on Vittal Mallya Road to make way for a ultra-high end 34-storey millionaires ' paradise on top of which he would have a penthouse.

Now, TOI gets you the first-ever visuals and details of Vijay Mallya's 'White House in the sky'. In all probability, Mallya will be the only man in the city who can boast of having a 1-acre parcel of land that's situated in the sky, and not on the ground below.

ABODE OF MILLIONAIRES 

Situated in the heart of Bangalore city, Kingfisher Towers has around 82 apartments split in three blocks, of which only 72 are for sale. Of the saleable units, 30 are Mallya's and the rest are with Prestige. The remaining 10 unsold units are to be spilt among members of Mallya's family.

There are five points of entry to the apartments, but to begin with, only two will be used. While the millionaire residents will be using the Kasturba Road Cross entry, Mallya has a separate entry from Vittal Mallya Road, which incidentally, is the same entry as that of his old house. The separate entry, which is adorned on one side by a 39,000 sqft private garden, leads Mallya to his personal lobby, a home-office, and a private lift to the penthouse. Each of the other apartments is 8,000 sqft and begins at Rs 20 crore. The apartments begin only from the 5th floor, and as one goes higher, the price increases. The first four floors, along with two floors in the basement, have been reserved for car parking. While each resident would be getting around 3- 5 car parks, Mallya gets to have a car park area that can accommodate around 100 cars. Mallya will also have a designated area where he will be showcasing his collection of vintage cars.

Initially, the project was to have around 100 units in three different sizes, but the plans were changed to have apartments of one size of 8,000 sqft. It is learnt that many of the millionaire buyers didn't like the idea of there being different apartment sizes as such a scenario would result in ego clashes among them.

TOI has learnt that while Prestige have sold out their share of the apartments, Mallya has just begun the process of selling. Kingfisher Towers might well be the only apartment building in Bangalore, where maids would get their own personal lift and lobby area, which would lead in to their private living quarters.

The luxury project has a 6,000-sqft clubhouse and garden on the 5th floor, a similar sized swimming pool area on the 10th floor, a badminton court on the 15th floor, and party hall and terrace garden on the 25th floor. There is also a 25,000-sqft common garden area for residents that is situated along the entry.

MALLYA'S PENTHOUSE 

Situated on the 33rd and 34th floors of the building, Mallya's penthouse sits on one-acre, which is supported by the three blocks 32 storeys high. The penthouse, split in two levels, will have a built-up area of around 40,000 sqft, and would boast a wine cellar, an indoor heated pool, an outdoor infinity pool, a gym, a salon and a spa, to name a few. The roof of the penthouse will have a helipad and, of course, the stars above.

RECAP

In 2008, Vijay Mallya, chairman, UB Group, decided to raze down his 4.5-acre ancestral home to make way for a luxury high-rise, on top of which he would build a penthouse for himself. But, the project was kept under wraps, and Mallya had denied to TOI that such an idea was even being conceptualized.

Once upon a time, the entire land parcel, which now houses UB City, and the upcoming Kingfisher Towers, comprised a brewery which belonged to the UB Group. The land parcel in front of UB City on which the J W Marriott hotel is being built was also part of the brewery.

In September 2009, while briefing shareholders at the 93 rd annual general meeting of United Breweries (holdings ) Limited, the parent company of the UB Group, Mallya had said, "We have got permission to develop an additional 500,000 sqft of space in UB City. This has come about due to changes in the zonal regulations of the area, which has resulted in an increase in the floor area ratio (FAR)."

While Mallya didn't comment further on the subject, UB Group CFO, Ravi Nedungadi, had then said, "There are plans of building a highend apartment."

Then in 2010, while declaring the fourth quarter results of United Breweries Holdings, Mallya himself announced that he had "executed a joint development agreement with a developer on 26 th April 2010, for the development of a luxury residential building in the available land in UB City". The developer was none other than Prestige Group. He also mentioned that the joint development would be in the ratio of 55% to UB and 45% to Prestige.

Meanwhile, Prestige Group, which owns the Oakwood Premier Prestige Serviced Residences in UB City, began renovation work on 46 serviced apartments, situated on the top two floors of the hotel, which would be the temporary address for Mallya and his family, until Kingfisher Towers- Residences at UB City is built.
Source: TNS

Anti-Wall Street protesters march against New York police

NEW YORK: Anti-Wall Street demonstrators marched against New York police on Tuesday, accusing some officers of excessive force when carrying out arrests during a month-long protest campaign against economic inequality.

Nearly a thousand people have been arrested and police have used pepper spray at rallies in New York by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which set up camp in a Lower Manhattan park on Sept 17 and has inspired similar demonstrations worldwide.

The protests, driven by social media, culminated in global rallies on Saturday that were mostly peaceful apart from those in Rome, where riots broke out.

"They tackled me," protester Zach Welch, 24, of Rochester, New York, said of his recent arrest by New York police during a protest outside a bank. "They stepped on me. They slammed my hands into the van ... They charged me with resisting arrest."

Welch was among about 100 demonstrators who protested outside the Manhattan District Attorney's office on Tuesday.

In New York, more than 700 people were arrested on Oct. 2 during an attempted unauthorized march on the Brooklyn Bridge, while another 92 were arrested on Saturday on minor charges.

"We've received about 500 arrests from the NYPD (so far)," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told reporters on Tuesday. He declined to say if any police officers were being investigated in response to the protesters' complaints.

A law enforcement source said police handling of several protest incidents was being investigated by prosecutors. New York police did not respond to requests for comment.

No Tea Party rival 

The Occupy movement has sprung up in cities across North America and prompted hundreds of arrests from Boston and Washington to Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego and Austin,Texas.

Occupy Arrests, a Twitter feed compiling arrests related to Occupy Wall Street, said that 1,770 people had been arrested around the world so far.

The protesters say they are upset that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans have had no relief from high unemployment and job insecurity.

They also believe the richest 1 percent of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes. But it remained unclear if the protesters' movement can sustain momentum. Critics have accused it of lacking a clear message or goal.

New York Times columnist Nate Silver has estimated that about 70,000 protesters attended protests in 150 U.S. cities on Saturday during the global day of action. He compared that to the first large protests by the conservative Tea Party group in 2009, which were attended by an estimated 300,000 people.

"We shouldn't rival the Tea Party but rather we should invite them to join us as they are part of the 99 percent," Occupy Wall Street posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

On Friday, a showdown between protesters and New York police was averted when the owner of the publicly accessible Zuccotti Park postponed a cleanup that demonstrators had feared was a guise to remove them. 

Jagraon Bridge area most polluted in Ludhiana city

Ludhiana, October 18
The recent survey of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has brought out some shocking facts. The Jagraon Bridge area is be one of the most polluted parts of the city, where 348 microgram/m3 of air was found to be polluted during the day. This figure is three times more than the national ambient air quality standards, which is 100 micrograms/m3.
The reason for this is that the area witnesses traffic snarls for hours, besides other factors. The worst sufferers are the traffic cops posted at the spot and have to stand there throughout the day without masks.
Even in the other parts of the city at night, when vehicular traffic is not much, the level of the particulate matter was more than 100 micrograms/m3.
Board officials have suggested several measures to bring down pollution levels, some of which include that commercial vehicles, which are more than 15 years old, should be taken off the road and diesel-run autorickshaws should be phased out.
However, government departments seem least bothered when it comes to taking old commercial vehicles off the road. The Municipal Corporation (MC) has deputed five trucks which have outlived their life for collecting garbage in the city.
With an aim to bring down pollution levels, the government had started promoting LPG-run autorickshaws. But the owners of these autorickshaws are a harried lot as there is only one LPG filling station.
Board chairman Kahan Singh Pannu has suggested that strict measures should be taken to check the emission levels of other vehicles by improving the system of certification by pollution under check (PUC) centres. “We will be writing to the government departments concerned to take action so that the pollution levels in the city can be brought down,” said Pannu.

14 Dera Sacha Sauda members acquitted of murder charges

Mumbai, October 18
Citing lack of evidence, a fast track court has acquitted 14 volunteers of religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda, who were charged with killing a Sikh at a suburban Mall three years ago.
The main accused, Jagdev Singh Gurudev Singh, was among those who were acquitted by Sewri Sessions Court Judge NP Dalvi yesterday for lack of evidence after being given the benefit of doubt.
According to forensic reports produced in the court, the bullets in the victim's body did not match with the gun allegedly used by the accused.
Defence lawyers Sudeep Pasbola and Sandeep Singh argued that prosecution had not proved the case as the bullets in the victim's body did not match with the weapons allegedly used in the crime. Hence, no case was made out against the accused.
Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam submitted that during the visit of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh on June 25, 2008, his personal bodyguards had allegedly fired at a crowd at Nirmal Lifestyle mall in suburban Mulund in which Balkar Singh, a Sikh, was killed.
The incident occurred when the Dera chief had gone to visit the shopping complex where members of the Sikh community were also present. An altercation broke out between the two groups. The Sikhs had protested against the Dera chief’s presence and hurled stones at him, prompting the other group to open fire.
The firing had led to large-scale protests by the local Sikh community. Later, the accused were arrested and charged with offences under IPC, Arms Act and Bombay Police Act.