On April 11, 2011, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court decision that denied the Winklevoss twins bid to void their settlement agreement with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.

In his opinion, Judge Kozinski says that between the ConnectU’s high-priced lawyers and the twin’s father (a former accounting professor at Wharton, and an expert in valuation), the twins had the resources they needed to come to a fair settlement.

“The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace,” wrote Kozinski in his [PDF]. “And the courts might have obliged, had the Winklevosses not settled their dispute and signed a release of all claims against Facebook. With the help of a team of lawyers and a financial advisor, they made a deal that appears quite favorable in light of recent market activity.”

Kozinski cites a Wall Street Journal article that estimates the current share price for Facebook at “3.33 times the value the Winklevosses claim they thought Facebook’s shares were worth at the mediation.”

(source Forbes.Com)