Settlement Reached in eBay Buy It Now Class Action Lawsuit

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Late last week, the parties in the class action lawsuit accusing eBay Inc. of unfairly taking advantage of the “Buy It Now” option proposed a settlement to end the action.

Under the terms of the proposed class action settlement, eBay will pay up to $1.2 million and claimants will receive between $5 and $15 each.

Lead plaintiff Luis Rosado alleged in his class action lawsuit that when he listed a car to sell on eBay, the company pocketed the fee associated with the “Buy It Now” option on the online seller’s marketplace. According to the class action lawsuit, which was filed in July of 2012, the eBay “Buy It Now” policy automatically and permanently removes items from the online listing, even if the buyer does not go through with the purchase. The plaintiff alleged in his class action that eBay unfairly took the fee from these incomplete sales and removed the items before they were actually sold.

EBay attempted to dismiss the class action lawsuit three times, arguing that its no-refund and listing policies are listed in the terms of service the eBay sellers agree to. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila refused to dismiss the class action lawsuit as recently as July 2014, rejecting eBay’s argument that it clearly explained the “Buy It Now” policies in its user agreements.

Those who will receive a pay out include those who sold or attempted to sell on eBay who lost their listing fees when a buyer clicked on “Buy It Now,” but never completed the sale and who also were not reimbursed by eBay. According to the plaintiff, the sellers’ lost listing fees will likely be covered or exceeded by the $5 to $15 checks under the terms of the proposed eBay class action settlement. Alternatively, if the number of claimants is not enough to exhaust at least 25 percent of the settlement funds, the plaintiff proposed that a larger amount be awarded to Class Members to reach that minimum. Additionally, funds that are not claimed will be awarded to Class Members as eBay credits for $50.

In documents filed with the court last week, the proposed Class admitted that it would have faced a number of issues remained if the case had gone through litigation, specifically that eBay sellers have the option to require immediate payment under the “Buy It Now” policy and when that option is selected the listing does not disappear until payment has been processed.

Rosado is represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC and D.J. Morgado of Feldman Fox & Morgado PA.

The eBay Buy It Now Class Action Lawsuit is Luis Rosado v. eBay Inc., Case No. 5:12-cv-04005, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: Claim filing instructions for the eBay Buy It Now class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.eBayBuyItNowClassAction.com for details.

UPDATE 2: On Jan. 8, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking final approval of the eBay Buy It Now class action settlement.

UPDATE 3: On Sept. 23, 2016, Top Class Actions readers started receiving checks in the mail worth as much as $15 from the eBay “Buy It Now” class action settlement. Congratulations to all our viewers who filed a Claim Form and got PAID!