Craigslist Sues eBay

In a reversal of fortune Craigslist has filed a lawsuit against eBay. The suit accuses eBay of unlawful and unfair competition and copyright infringement, among other things.

Just last month Geek-News.Net reported that eBay was suing Craigslist for implementing new policies that eBay said unfairly diluted its economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent.

Earlier this month eBay posted the court documents outlining exactly why it filed suit against Craigslist. So in turn Craigslist made the documents relating to the countersuit publically available. The 26-page document portrays a completely different picture on how eBay acquired its minority stake in Craigslist. They also allege eBay used its Craigslist board position to harm Craigslist while simultaneously using information gleaned from Craigslist to help their very similar classified ad services called Kijiji.com.

Craigslist is seeking permanent injunctive relief against eBay, its officers, agents, representatives, employees, attorneys, and successors. It further seeks an injunction against eBay using the Craigslist mark or name in advertising alleging eBay infringed Craigslist's trademark by placing ads for Kijiji on Google using Craigslist's name and that eBay interfered in its business, conducted phishing attacks and broke its duty to shareholders.



Craigslist is asking the court to return eBay’s shares to Craigslist and that the court order eBay to divest interests in Craigslist. Craigslist is also seeking a court order for eBay to pay general, special, actual and statutory damages for Craigslist damages and eBay’s profits and other damages the court deems just.

eBay Sues Craigslist

eBay Inc, has sued Craigslist in a dispute over whether the Internet bulletin board tried to weaken eBay's control. eBay has alleged in the lawsuit that the board of directors of Craigslist took "unilateral actions" to dilute eBay's 28.4 percent stake by more than 10 percent.

The suit, filed on Tuesday under seal, asked a Delaware Chancery Court to rescind the unspecified actions to protect eBay's stockholders and preserve its stake in Craigslist. The suit names as defendants Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, who runs the company in a famously open-minded style, and Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster. Newmark and Buckmaster are the only members of Craigslist's board of directors.

In a blog posting late on Tuesday, Craigslist said it was "surprised and disappointed" by eBay's allegations, which "came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in dialogue with us."

The lawsuit by "a company that views Craigslist as a prime competitor ... seems unethical, and suggests ulterior motives" such as a "hostile takeover" of Craigslist or the sale of eBay's stake to an "unfriendly party," the posting said.

Craigslist said it has always treated eBay "very fairly" and plans to continue doing so, despite this "unfortunate development."

Read the full eBay press release

Man loses everything in Craigslist hoax

According to the Associated Press a pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned.

The ads popped up saying the owner of a Jacksonville, Oregon home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings were free for the taking.

But Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave.

Jackson County Det. Colin Fagan says Salisbury was on his way home when he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater. Salisbury informed them he was the owner, but they refused to give the items back, showing the Craigslist printout and sped away.

"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury told Associated Press. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

When Salisbury got to his house he found around 30 people rummaging through his home looking for things to take. Again he told them that the advert was a hoax but again they refused to accept his word.

"They honestly thought that because it appeared on the internet it was true, " he said. "It boggles the mind."

Fagan says prosecution was likely for anybody caught with Salisbury's property unless they return the items with no questions asked. Detectives have contacted Craigslist's legal team to try to trace the ad.

My thoughts

I had read this story yesterday, and honestly wasn't shocked.

There are lots of people out there on Craigslist that are genuinely good hearted people, but as with any community there are also those that are out only for themselves. I've personally seen many instances where people have been kind enough to offer a few specific items only for Craigslisters to come and take more than they should.

Its sad when you see the kindness of strangers being mistreated. I've been a long time member of the popular Freecycle Network and have seen time and time again people that use and abuse the system for personal profit and gain as much as possible. Instead of thinking of people that could actually use the hand up they think only of themselves.