Once a judge has recommended a case be dismissed, can it still proceed? Why would it take a long time to dismiss it after that?

Because it wasn’t the trial judge that made the recommendation, it was a Federal Magistrate. The trial judge still needs to review the report and rule on it. It probably hasn’t had time on the calendar, plus the guy whose suit is being dismissed gets to challenge the recommendation in court.

Thanks very much, that makes sense.

With the plaintiff also facing federal fraud charges (since Nov 2012) for having falsified the only material evidence in this case, is there any realistic chance the case will go to trial now? Or is it safe to assume that it won’t go to trial?

(And is there any way to estimate how long it will take before there will be a definite answer that it’s not going to trial?)

You can see if the court of jurisdiction has anything scheduled. But it’s hard to get info if you are just a private individual and just curious. If you are a shareholder in Facebook, you can call the investor relations office at Facebook and ask for any update on the case as you are trying to weigh the potential impact on shareholder value. They will give you a positive spin, but could give you an estimate on when any rulings are expected.