Facebook Lawyers Disclosed E-Mail Passwords in Court Filing

Paul Ceglia, who claims a 2003 contract with Mark Zuckerberg made him a partner in Facebook Inc., said the company’s lawyers committed an “egregious and massive violation” of his privacy by publishing his e-mail passwords.

Facebook’s lawyers, from the 1,000-lawyer firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, included passwords to Ceglia’s Web-based e-mail accounts in a court document filed Sept. 1 in federal court in Buffalo, New York, according to a filing by Ceglia. The papers were removed from the public file the next day and Ceglia, in Ireland, changed the passwords, according to his lawyers.

“Counsel’s baffling misconduct resulted in Ceglia’s e-mail accounts being accessible to the world for 12 hours,” his lawyers said in court papers. They said they intend to ask the court for sanctions and attorneys fees. The lawyers, Paul Argentieri and Jeffrey Lake, didn’t immediately return voice- mail messages today seeking comment on the matter. Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, declined to comment.