eBay Sellers Await Final Judgment in $1.2M ‘Buy It Now’ Settlement

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A proposed Class of eBay sellers is awaiting the final decision of U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila after seeking final approval of the $1.2 million settlement.

The eBay class action lawsuit accused the online auction site of removing “Buy It Now” listings when shoppers did not complete their purchase, while eBay kept the fees.

The seller Class informed Judge Davila that the class action notification process was complete, and that the process yielded fair results. Of the potential 2.5 million eligible members, over 30,000 of the members submitted Claim Forms before the Dec. 8, 2015 deadline, according to the plaintiff’s motion seeking final approval of the eBay Buy It Now class action settlement.

Of the submissions, 38 individuals opted out and one member objected to the eBay class action settlement terms, the court documents indicate.

Per the terms of the settlement that was proposed in July, any leftover funds will not revert back to eBay. Claimants will receive between $5 to $15 each, depending on the item listed, such as a car or other item. Unclaimed funds will be further distributed to eligible claims in the form of eBay credits in amounts up to $50.

The sellers confirmed, “Based on this method of distribution, the entirety of the net settlement fund will be paid to Claimants, class members, or other eBay sellers, and there will be no residual amount that will be paid to any organization as a cy pres recipient and no amount that will revert to eBay.”

The eBay class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2012, after lead plaintiff Luis Rosado claimed he had listed his vehicle on ebay.com via a “Buy It Now” listing. The “Buy It Now” option allows sellers to offer a fixed price for the item rather than waiting for the auction process to conclude with the highest bidder winning the auction after a set period of time. The listing fee of $36 allowed Rosado to have his vehicle advertised for sale on the website for a total of 21 days.

Just seven days after the item was listed, Rosado claimed that a buyer clicked the “Buy It Now” button but did not complete the purchase. However, after the “Buy It Now” button was clicked, the item was removed from eBay’s listing, causing Rosado to lose the 14 days remaining on his original listing, according to the eBay class action lawsuit.

In July 2014, Judge Davila dismissed eBay’s claim that Rosado’s claims lacked merit. Davila said that Rosado had indeed shown that eBay’s contract lacked important information that was relevant to the company’s selling policy.

The proposed eBay settlement Class includes individuals who listed an item with the “Buy It Now” option, paid relevant fees, and were not refunded if a sale transaction was not completed between July 2008 and September 2015.

The plaintiffs summarized, “The parties have negotiated a fair and reasonable settlement of a case that provides relied that likely would never have been realized but for this class action.”

The final hearing for the eBay ‘Buy It Now’ class action settlement is set to take place on Feb. 25, 2016.

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 of the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: 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!