According to the complaint, which Abrams's lawyers had hoped would be certified as a class action, Abrams started getting the unsolicited messages shortly after she got a new mobile number from Verizon Communications Inc. in November 2006. Her suit alleged thousands of other unauthorized text messages had been sent nationwide to other recycled phone numbers, including some used by young children. Facebook stipulated to the agreement in court papers filed Dec. 14 in San Jose federal court. A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday. The two-month-old case highlighted the problems that can arise as Web sites extend their services to mobile handsets with phone numbers that have been reassigned after another customer's service ended. Facebook's rapid growth has greatly increased the chances of unauthorized messages originating from its network. Nearly 40 million people have joined Facebook in the past eight months.