Lawyers in New York Facebook Suit Spar Over Fee Amount

Lawyers for Facebook are looking for $84,000 in legal fees from a New York man after a judge ruled he caused delays in his lawsuit seeking part ownership in the $50 billion social networking site.

The attorney for Paul Ceglia, of Wellsville, says the amount is too high.

A federal judge last month ordered Ceglia to pay Facebook’s court costs for trying to force Ceglia to comply with an order to provide access to his email accounts.

New York City attorney Orin Snyder says the extra work cost $84,000.

In a response this week, Ceglia’s lawyer, Dean Boland, asked the judge to reject that amount and come up with a figure that reflects Buffalo-area legal rates.

Ceglia was also fined $5,000 for contempt. Facebook is based in Palo Alto, Calif.