In a June 30-filed lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York's Allegany County, a Western New York man – Wellsville’s Paul Ceglia – has sued Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, claiming that he owns 84 percent of the popular social networking service.

According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, Ceglia has claimed that, way back in April 2003, he and Zuckerberg had signed a contract for the design and development of a Website. As per the terms of the contract, Ceglia was entitled to a $1,000 fee and a 50 percent stake in the final product.

Moreover, the WSJ report also says that Zuckerberg had further agreed to pay Ceglia an additional 1 percent stake per day till the completion of the Website – thereby giving Ceglia an 84 percent stake in the company since February 4, 2004.

The report also mentions that the day Ceglia filed the lawsuit, Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Thomas P. Brown issued a temporary restraining order which prohibits Facebook and Zuckerberg “from transferring, selling, assigning any assets, stocks, bonds, owned, possessed and/or controlled by the defendants.”

Meanwhile, Facebook has got the case transferred the federal court in Buffalo, New York, and is trying to get the restraining order cancelled. In a statement, the company spokesman Barry Schnitt said: “We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously.”