Mark Zuckerberg won a chance in the legal battle over his backyard privacy to pry further into the past of the developer suing him by showing that his adversary was engaged in a fraud.
The Facebook co-founder is investigating developer Mircea Voskerician's testimony that he once had a side business under a different name on eBay selling medical equipment made by his then-employer.
Voskerician said in a deposition that he took discarded components from trash cans and recycling bins while he worked at Stryker. He acknowledged he did so without the company's permission and said he used the proceeds for a down payment on the rights to the property behind Zuckerberg's home that led to their dispute.
Voskerician's lawyer agreed Thursday not to fight an effort by Zuckerberg's attorneys to get records about the developer from Stryker after the billionaire's legal team sought a court order for access to the documents.
Voskerician's lawyers have long contended the online sales are irrelevant to his complaint: Zuckerberg is accused of breaking a promise to introduce the developer to Silicon Valley's elite as part of a deal to kill plans for a mansion to be built with a view into his bedroom.
Zuckerberg's pursuit of the Stryker records is part of his continuing bid to discredit Voskerician. Lawyers for the Facebook co-founder already have tried to raise doubts about the sources of the developer's funding to purchase the property, including hiring a private detective to learn details about a partner in the deal and a competing offer from an unidentified African Prince. Zuckerberg's team also claims a bank statement filed by Voskerician was falsified to inflate his balance by more than $3.8 million.
The Facebook co-founder is investigating developer Mircea Voskerician's testimony that he once had a side business under a different name on eBay selling medical equipment made by his then-employer.
Voskerician said in a deposition that he took discarded components from trash cans and recycling bins while he worked at Stryker. He acknowledged he did so without the company's permission and said he used the proceeds for a down payment on the rights to the property behind Zuckerberg's home that led to their dispute.
Voskerician's lawyer agreed Thursday not to fight an effort by Zuckerberg's attorneys to get records about the developer from Stryker after the billionaire's legal team sought a court order for access to the documents.
Voskerician's lawyers have long contended the online sales are irrelevant to his complaint: Zuckerberg is accused of breaking a promise to introduce the developer to Silicon Valley's elite as part of a deal to kill plans for a mansion to be built with a view into his bedroom.
Zuckerberg's pursuit of the Stryker records is part of his continuing bid to discredit Voskerician. Lawyers for the Facebook co-founder already have tried to raise doubts about the sources of the developer's funding to purchase the property, including hiring a private detective to learn details about a partner in the deal and a competing offer from an unidentified African Prince. Zuckerberg's team also claims a bank statement filed by Voskerician was falsified to inflate his balance by more than $3.8 million.