Snapchat Finally Settles Lawsuit With Ousted Co-Founder Reggie Brown

After more than a year of legal woes, Snapchat has finally settled its lawsuit with Reggie Brown.

According to a press release, the settlement resolves the issue on “mutually agreeable terms,” but doesn’t reveal the specifics of those terms.

In early 2013, Frank Reginald Brown accused Snapchat founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy of unfairly ousting him from the company and refusing to give him credit or compensation for his contributions. According to the lawsuit, Brown was a part of the founding team, helping to submit patents for Snapchat and even coming up with the idea for disappearing photo messages himself.

“We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter in a manner that is satisfactory to Mr. Brown and the Company. We acknowledge Reggie’s contribution to the creation of Snapchat and appreciate his work in getting the application off the ground,” said Spiegel in an official statement.

Here is the full text of the release:

Frank Reginald (“Reggie”) Brown, IV, and Snapchat, Inc., along with its CEO, Evan Spiegel, and CTO, Robert Murphy, announced today that they have settled their dispute over Mr. Brown’s claim of an ownership interest in Snapchat on mutually agreeable terms. The settlement resolves Brown’s suit filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles, as well as all other disputes between the parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

“We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter in a manner that is satisfactory to Mr. Brown and the Company. We acknowledge Reggie’s contribution to the creation of Snapchat and appreciate his work in getting the application off the ground.”

Reggie Brown originally came up with the idea of creating an application for sending disappearing picture messages while he was a student at Stanford University. He then collaborated with Spiegel and Murphy on the development of Snapchat during its early and most formative days.

Discussing the settlement, Spiegel said, “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter in a manner that is satisfactory to Mr. Brown and the Company. We acknowledge Reggie’s contribution to the creation of Snapchat and appreciate his work in getting the application off the ground.”

It’s worth noting that Tinder just yesterday settled its own lawsuit with early employee Whitney Wolfe, based around similar accusations. Both companies are based in Los Angeles.