As twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss power toward Wednesday’s semifinal in the rowing events of the Olympics in Beijing, their longstanding court case against Facebook is winding down.

A San Jose, Calif., judge ruled late final week that ConnectU, the start-up that the brothers founded with Harvard classmate Divya Narendra, must transfer its stock to Facebook as part of the settlement acquisition by Tuesday, despite the claims on behalf of ConnectU that Facebook folded to reveal its true valuation when negotiating the terms of the settlement. The start-up’s founders alleged hoax on Facebook’s part, and claimed that irreparable harm would ensue from the settlement going through in its present mold.

Facebook had been valued on paper at $15 billion when Microsoft took a $240 million stake final November. But that valuation was specific to Microsoft’s preferred stock and the commerce deal surrounding it, Facebook said. Its real valuation is amidst $3 billion and $4

billion–reports place it at $3.75 billion.

Judge James Ware ruled final Friday that while ConnectU’s appeal can be heard, the settlement has to go through first. “The longer the court delays in enforcing the settlement amoung the parties, the more likely the value of the consideration subject of the settlement (i.e. the value of the stock of each company) will change,” Ware wrote in his ruling. “This means that the status quo cannot be preserved with a stay.”

Ware originally rejected claims of fraud in June, prompting the appeal.

ConnectU’s founders are slated to get a mixture of cash and Facebook stock as part of the settlement. They originally sued Facebook in 2004, claiming that founder Mark Zuckerberg had swiped their cipher and commerce plan after being employed as a ConnectU software developer.

Original post by Caroline McCarthy