Mark Zuckerberg has settled a real estate lawsuit filed against him in 2014. The developer who filed the dispute, Mircea Voskerician, did not get any payout.
In 2013, the Facebook's CEO and co-founder bought a 5,617-square-foot residence in Palo Alto, California. Shortly after, he purchased another four homes adjacent to his property worth $30 million because Voskerician was planning to construct a house that could invade Zuckerberg's privacy. The plan to erect a 9,600-square-foot house behind Zuckerberg's house reportedly would have a direct view of his home, particularly the bedroom, Business Insider reported.
Reports say that Voskerician later filed a legal case against the social media billionaire for allegedly breaking their unwritten deal in relation so the property sold to Zuckerberg. According to court filings, Voskerician sold off his rights to the property to Zuckerberg for a discounted price of $1.7 million. In exchange, Zuckerberg allegedly promised to introduce Voskerician to his Silicon Valley contacts, such as executives of Google, Apple and Facebook.
The billionaire fought the lawsuit and claimed that the developer threatened to build a large mansion adjacent to home unless he pays him millions of dollars in exchange of his privacy. According to Patrick Gunn, an attorney for Zuckerberg, evidences showed Voskerician used doctored documents to support his claims.
Guyton Jinkerson, the developer's new lawyer said they had reviewed "factual and legal premises" his client's previous lawyers pursued, per Reuters. He said, "Upon careful reflection we determined that this case should be resolved," he said. Voskerician agreed to drop the case with the assurance that Zuckerberg will not sue him back.
"We are pleased that the parties have been able to bring an end to this litigation," Jinkerson said.
Gunn said, "We are pleased this years-long harassment has come to an end and that plaintiff will see no financial gain from his misconduct."
