eBay Faces New Trial Over Harassment of Couple After Settlement Collapses

eBay is once again facing the prospect of a trial in a lawsuit brought by a Massachusetts couple who were subjected to a bizarre stalking and harassment campaign carried out by several of its employees, after the company failed to finalise a settlement.

US District Judge Patti Saris in Boston has set a trial date of January 4 in the lawsuit filed by David and Ina Steiner against the company and three former executives. The couple allege they were targeted by former employees in retaliation for their coverage of eBay in the newsletter they publish.

The judge scheduled the trial after the Steiners said in a court filing on Friday that they were unable to complete a settlement which the defendants had agreed to in principle in February, just days before the case was originally due to go to trial.

As a result, the Steiners asked the court to reopen the case. Their lawsuit is seeking millions of dollars in compensatory damages, along with $466 million in punitive damages, according to court filings.

The defendants include eBay, former chief executive Devin Wenig, former chief communications officer Steve Wymer, and former senior vice-president of global operations Wendy Jones.

Neither Todd Garber, a lawyer for the Steiners, nor eBay spokespersons responded to requests for comment.

The Steiners filed the lawsuit in 2021 after several former eBay employees were charged over their roles in an extensive harassment campaign in 2019. The campaign involved sending the couple cockroaches, fly larvae and a bloodied Halloween pig mask.

Prosecutors said several eBay employees travelled from California to Natick, Massachusetts, to surveil the Steiners and attempted to install a GPS tracking device on their car.

Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty and received prison sentences of up to 57 months for their roles in the stalking campaign, which prosecutors said was intended to silence the Steiners after senior executives considered their newsletter, EcommerceBytes, to be critical of the company.

Prosecutors and the Steiners alleged the campaign began after Wenig texted Wymer in August 2019, saying it was time to “take her down”, referring to Ina Steiner.

San Jose-based eBay agreed in 2024 to pay $3 million and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors.

The Steiners’ lawsuit accuses eBay and the former executives of trespass, false imprisonment and violations of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act.

Wenig, who stepped down as eBay’s chief executive in September 2019 and previously worked at Thomson Reuters, was never charged. His lawyers have argued that he had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the harassment campaign.

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