October 19, 2026
Agreeing on a number is one part of resolving a business disagreement. Agreeing on what comes next can be just as important.
In 2008, the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra settled with Facebook for cash and shares. They later challenged the agreement, alleging they had been misled about the shares’ value. The Ninth Circuit upheld the settlement in 2011.
In September 2014, Snapchat settled Reggie Brown’s claim to an ownership interest. Snap later disclosed payments totaling $157.5 million, paid in 2014 and 2016.
One agreement included a continuing ownership stake. The other was, as disclosed, a defined payment.
The comparison does not tell us which arrangement was better. It shows how differently an agreement can connect the parties to what happens next.
A departing partner may value liquidity. The business may need to preserve cash. Someone who wants a continuing stake may also want information about decisions that could affect its value.
Those interests can coexist. Working out how they fit together takes a different conversation from debating the amount owed.
What needs to be paid now? What could depend on future performance? What information would be shared? How much continuing connection would each side accept?
For founders, partners and small-business owners, these questions can be useful while an exit, a buyout or a change in roles is still being discussed.
By the time the conversation becomes a demand and a response, some of those choices may already feel harder to explore.
An agreement can close the books on the past while leaving the parties connected to the future. How much connection they want is worth discussing alongside the price.
Sources
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, The Facebook, Inc. v. ConnectU, Inc., Nos. 08-16745, 08-16873, 09-15021 (April 11, 2011). ca9.uscourts.gov
Snap Inc., Form S-1 Registration Statement, filed February 2, 2017. sec.gov
Ariadne Latorre is a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator and a software engineer. She mediates business and commercial, insurance and risk allocation, LegalTech and information governance, HOA and community, and court-ordered matters, in English and Spanish, in Miami and virtually worldwide.