eBay and former executives reached a settlement with journalists Ina and David Steiner just days before a civil trial regarding a 2019 harassment campaign was set to begin. The settlement ends a five-year legal battle where eBay personnel sent live insects and bloody masks to the couple, who run the EcommerceBytes blog, for criticizing the company in their publication. The court dismissed the case without prejudice as the parties are finalizing the undisclosed terms within 60 days.
This is honestly one of the most astonishing, yet under-reported lawsuits to hit our industry.
Huge shoutout to Liz Morton of Value Added Resource for her unmatched coverage of the lawsuit over the past several years. Read through her eBay Cyberstalking archives for more details on the case, which I'll provide a very brief summary of below.
- Back in 2019, a team of high-level eBay security personnel, led by Director of Global Resiliency Jim Baugh, launched a stalking and harassment campaign against Ina and David Steiner for their critical coverage of eBay. The harassment included sending live insects, bloody pig masks, and funeral wreaths to their home, as well as threatening messages, doxxing, in-person surveillance, and an attempted break-in. Who does that?! A bunch of eBay mall cops who take their job too seriously…
- Seven eBay employees pleaded guilty to the harassment and were sentenced for their roles, including Baugh and six others. eBay signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, admitting to six felony offenses and paying a $3M fine, which went to the US Treasury, not the Steiners.
- In 2021, the Steiners filed a civil lawsuit naming the seven criminal defendants plus eBay, ex-CEO Devin Wenig, ex-Communications Chief Steve Wymer, ex-SVP Global Operations Wendy Jones, and security firm Progressive F.O.R.C.E Concepts, alleging the harassment campaign was directed from the top of eBay's executive suite.
- The Steiners settled with five of the lower-level security defendants in exchange for their testimony against the executive defendants. The trial was originally set for January 5, 2026 but was pushed to March 2 after Wenig's attorney claimed last-minute scheduling conflicts.
- Just days before jury selection was set to begin, the parties reached an undisclosed settlement. The case was dismissed without costs and without prejudice, with a 60-day window to reopen if the settlement isn't completed.
Crazy, right?! I hope that the Steiners made bank in their lawsuit, as they deserve it for what they went through.