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Judge delays Facebook court case

But while ConnectU insisted that its small press conference was a matter of logistical practicality rather than a grab for attention, it certainly didn't come across that way. Held at the posh Boston Harbor Hotel, the event was attended by newspaper reporters as well as broadcast journalists from network and cable television stations.

Facebook's legal team, on the other hand, wants to keep the case a quiet affair. Company representatives had made it clear to the media early in the week that no one from Facebook would be present at the hearing. The lead defence counsel, I Neel Chatterjee, told the judge that the case had grown excessively bloated since ConnectU's founders made their initial allegations nearly three years ago, both in terms of the number of claims laid out by the claimants and the media attention. "This case has kind of spun in a lot of directions and somewhat out of control," Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee represented Facebook and all of the individuals named as defendants, except for former chief financial officer Eduardo Saverin, who is no longer on the company's payroll. Saverin was represented by a separate lawyer, who was very vocal about wanting to see her client removed from a lawsuit that concerned a company he was no longer part of.

The defence counsel, meanwhile, also accused ConnectU of reaching out for media attention in an attempt to raise its own profile. "ConnectU is trying to litigate this case through the press," he charged. And the judge seemed to be in agreement. "There is the aroma of the use of publicity about the case to gain an unfair advantage, and perhaps capitalise," Woodlock said.

It's going to be hard for Facebook to keep the press away. As a 23-year-old with an astonishing level of self-made wealth, Zuckerberg is an alluring figure indeed. And ConnectU's Winklevoss twins, who arrived at the hearing clad in matching navy blue pinstripe suits, have all the ingredients of a publicity magnet, too: they recently brought home gold and silver medals from the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro as members of the US rowing team.

Facebook's attempts to cool down the press buzz may lead only to more speculation and gossip about the red-hot Silicon Valley company. The legal team's eagerness to lower the profile of the lawsuit, after all, may be interpreted as yet another indicator that the company is heading for either a multibillion-dollar buyout or an initial public offering. Because, as commentators have already pointed out, no company wants a lawsuit hanging over its head when there's a massive financial deal in the works -- regardless of how shaky the claimants' allegations may seem.