The twin brothers best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook filed court papers Wednesday asking a Los Angeles judge to enforce a subpoena against a Southland man in connection with litigation the siblings filed against a former business partner in Delaware.
Billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss brought the petition in Los Angeles Superior Court asking that English businessman Paul Zeital Kemsley, a non-party in the brothers' suit against Stephen Shaw, be required to turn over information requested in their subpoena.
"This relief is necessary in order to ensure a responsible search of Kemsley's computer and other electronic devices is performed and that a complete production of all responsive documents is made," the petition states.
The brothers sued Shaw in 2018, alleging that their $1.3 million investment in 2011 in Shaw's Treats! magazine -- which depicts nude and seminude photography of models and celebrities -- was diverted by Shaw to his company Smudge.
Shaw denied the mismanagement allegations and made counterclaims against the brothers, alleging they breached their commitments to help publicize their investment in Treats! after their fame peaked with the release of "The Social Network" film.
The Winklevoss petition does not state why Kemsley would have information related to Treats!, but does say the twins seek documents focused on revenues and spending related to the magazine.
Kemsley turned over emails he received, but not those he sent, according to the petition. When lawyers for the Winklevosses raised this issue, Kemsley's lawyer referred to Kemsley's assistant, "effectively taking the position that his assistant's review of Kemsley's email accounts comprises a search sufficient to respond to the subpoena," according to the petition.
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Kemsley's lawyer confirmed that his client failed to produce some documents in the format required by the subpoena, preventing the Winklevoss lawyers from verifying that the original, unedited communication was produced by Kemsley, according to the petition.
Kemsley, 53, is a former chairman of the New York Cosmos.
The Winklevosses alleged in their suit against Zuckerberg that he stole their idea for the social network platform when the trio attended Harvard University. The twins later won a $65 million settlement.
