eBay settles harassment lawsuit for $55.7m

eBay and three of its former top executives have agreed to pay a combined $55.7 million to resolve a federal lawsuit by David and Ina Steiner, a Massachusetts couple targeted in a 2019 harassment campaign. The agreement brings to a close civil claims the Steiners filed in 2021 in connection with the campaign, which followed their coverage of the company in an online newsletter.

Under the settlement terms, the Steiners will receive $48.7 million in compensation. eBay will pay $46.15 million of that amount, while former chief executive Devin Wenig will pay $2 million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones will pay $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer will pay $50,000.

Beyond direct payments to the couple, the resolution includes a significant charitable component. eBay will fund $6 million in contributions to non-profit organizations as part of the settlement structure.

In addition, Devin Wenig will contribute a separate $1 million to a charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights, made in Ina Steiner’s name. The settlement also requires eBay to issue a public, strongly worded statement addressing the conduct of the former executives involved in the 2019 events.

The agreement does not include a confidentiality provision, allowing the Steiners and the company to speak publicly about the resolution and the underlying conduct. eBay has acknowledged that what happened to the couple was wrong and said it should never have occurred.

The civil settlement follows earlier criminal prosecutions of seven former eBay employees over their roles in the 2019 campaign targeting the Steiners. Federal prosecutors charged the former workers in connection with an effort that escalated from online monitoring to direct intimidation.

The campaign included anonymous deliveries of live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, and a bloody pig Halloween mask sent to the couple’s home. Pornographic magazines were mailed to a neighbor with the Steiners’ name on the address label, and participants also attempted to install a GPS tracking device on the couple’s car.

Several of the former employees pleaded guilty and received sentences that included prison terms or home confinement. The resolution of the Steiners’ lawsuit now addresses the civil liability of eBay and the former executives, complementing the earlier criminal outcomes for the employees directly involved.