Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Will Have to Testify in November

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has been asked to explain in court why he decided to drop a plan to create non-voting shares last year. These shares would’ve allowed Zuckerberg to retain control of Facebook after selling most of his stake to fund charitable works.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster has ordered Zuckerberg to testify on November 19th in a lawsuit brought by investors to recoup legal fees incurred in stopping the plan.

Lawyers for the investors are seeking $129 million from the company while officials from Facebook argue that they only deserve $20 million.

Laster wants the CEO to testify to decide on which value.

“The reclassification proposal has been withdrawn,” said Vanessa Chan, a Facebook spokeswoman.

“The only issue still being litigated is compensation for plaintiffs’ lawyers, who are seeking the second-highest fee in the history of the court. We continue to oppose their efforts to recover a windfall at the expense of stockholders.”

Judge Laster has scheduled three consecutive days for Zuckerberg’s testimony in his Sept. 6 order
“Over the past year and a half, Facebook’s business has performed well and the value of our stock has grown to the point that I can fully fund our philanthropy and retain voting control of Facebook for 20 years or more,’’ Zuckerberg said last September.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and have not been compensated for this article.