Natick Couple's Lawsuit Against eBay Gets Cleared To Go To Trial

NATICK, MA — David and Ina Steiner's $500 million lawsuit against the company and people who harassed them for years over their writing on an e-commerce blog can go to trial, a judge ruled recently.

First reported by the Boston Globe, US District Court Judge Patti Saris found that there was enough evidence that a jury could find the company and its former employees liable for the campaign of harassment against the Natick couple.

The Globe reported that the lawsuit, now four years old, could go to trial later this year or early next year with a priority from Saris to complete the proceedings swiftly.

The lawsuit specifically names the company, its former executive Devin Wenig and other former executives. Wenig wasn't a part of the criminal case that resulted in seven convictions against former employees and a criminal penalty of $3 million, which is the statutory maximum fine for these six felony offenses.

In the recent development, Saris said the jury will have to determine if company executives signed off on the harassing behavior, which culminated in a three-part harassment campaign against the Natick couple.

Among other things, several of the defendants ordered anonymous and "disturbing" deliveries to the victims’ home, including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book on surviving the loss of a spouse.

As part of the second phase of the campaign, some of the defendants sent private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter’s content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick.

See Also

• Natick Couple's eBay Lawsuit Now Interests Federal Agencies
• Final eBay Employee Sentenced In Natick Couple Cyberstalking Case