Grex Ebay Conference

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Grex Ebay Item 17: legal matters???
Entered by fuzzball on Wed Dec 27 04:57:18 UTC 2006:

i recived this in my ebay's message box today. read it all and still 
dont get it. i think ebay sent it to nearly everyone... any input?

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA


JOHN ROCKERS, MARK RAWLING and
BRIAN MORK , On Behalf of Themselves and for
the Benefit of All with the Common or General
Interest, Any Persons Injured, and All Others
Similarly Situated,
                                                      Plaintiff,
        vs.

EBAY, INC., et al.,
                                                      Defendants.

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 Case No. 1:05-CV-035930

CLASS ACTION

NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION


DATE ACTION FILED: 02/17/05
 
   



THIS IS A LEGAL NOTICE. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED.

PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

  
To: All eBay users from February 16, 2001 to the present. If you claim 
to have been harmed by eBay raising the eBay bidder's existing bid 
where no higher competing bid had been made and where raising the bid 
was not necessary to meet a reserve minimum you are a Member of 
the "Class" and your rights may be affected by the proposed class 
action settlement of a lawsuit alleging that eBay would automatically 
increase in certain circumstances an existing bid where no competing 
bid had been made and where it was not necessary to meet a reserve 
minimum. eBay denies any and all of the contentions and allegations of 
wrongdoing relating to eBay's increasing an existing bid where no 
competing bid had been made and where it was not necessary to meet a 
reserve minimum, and denies that the Members of the Class have 
suffered any damage. This Notice summarizes the terms of the 
settlement, and explains your rights and options under the settlement.

 
I. THE LAWSUIT

 
On February 17, 2005, a complaint was filed by plaintiff Glenn Block 
in the Superior Court of the State of California County of Santa Clara 
( the "Court") as a class action alleging that eBay's automatic 
increase in certain circumstances of an existing bid where no 
competing bid had been made and increasing the bid was not necessary 
to meet a minimum reserve was improper and artificially inflated the 
bids of eBay buyers, thus causing damage to eBay buyers 
(the "Action"). On April 17, 2006, an Amended Complaint which, among 
other things, substituted Plaintiffs John Rockers, Mark Rawling and 
Brian Mork for the original plaintiff was filed in the Court. The 
caption of the Action is Rockers v. eBay, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:05-
CV-035930.

 
II. THE SETTLEMENT TERMS

 
The parties participated in mediation with the Honorable Read Ambler 
(Ret.) in an effort to resolve the Action. As a result of the 
mediation and in order to settle the allegations in the Action, eBay 
has agreed to cease the conduct alleged by making the 
following "curative disclosure" that is relative to the 
misrepresentations claimed by Plaintiffs:

 
  In response to a system prompt, if a high bidder attempts to raise 
his maximum bid when such bidder is then between bid increments, eBay 
shall first disclose to such bidder the exact amount of any resulting 
bid increase that would otherwise occur by virtue of the bidder 
raising the maximum bid. By way of illustration only and using the 
facts set forth in paragraph 23 of the Complaint, upon raising the 
maximum bid once plaintiff had reached his existing bid maximum of 
$111.00, eBay would disclose whether raising the maximum bid level 
would result in the $111.00 bid being raised to the next bid increment 
over the last competitive bid of $110.00 and, if so, specify the exact 
amount to which the bid would be raised - that is, $112.50.

 
In addition, eBay has agreed to pay the sum of $2.1 million 
("Settlement Fund"). The Settlement Fund will be distributed to one or 
more federally tax exempt charities chosen by Plaintiffs' Counsel and 
approved by the Court. None of the charities selected by Plaintiffs' 
Counsel and approved by the Court shall be directly or indirectly 
affiliated or associated with Plaintiffs or their counsel. Based on 
information provided by eBay to Plaintiffs' Counsel, the $2.1 million 
is estimated to be approximately 50% of the claimed damages and all 
other economic harm allegedly incurred by Members of the Class. 
Distribution of the Settlement Fund to charitable organizations is 
appropriate because any attempt to distribute the Settlement Fund to 
individual Members of the Class - whose average recovery would be less 
than $1.00 - would result in administrative costs that would consume 
any settlement proceeds. 
eBay has also agreed to separately pay Plaintiffs' Counsel $800,000 
for past and anticipated future attorneys' fees and expenses regarding 
the Action, subject to Court approval ("Attorney Fees"). This amount 
was negotiated and agreed to after the substantive provisions of the 
settlement were reached and after the memorandum setting forth the 
material terms of the settlement was executed. Plaintiffs' Counsel, 
subject to Court approval, intend to pay up to $104,300.00 and 
$150,000.00 to Glenn Block (or Glenn Block, P.C.) and Daniel Block (or 
DSB Consulting, Inc.), respectively, for their expert services in this 
Action from the Attorney Fees. Glenn Block was the original plaintiff 
in the Action and provided technical assistance to Plaintiffs' Counsel 
regarding eBay's auction practices, the allegations in the Action, the 
calculation of damages and economic harm, and due diligence. Daniel 
Block is Glenn Block's son and provided computer, programming and data 
mining expertise that was otherwise unavailable to Plaintiffs in a 
timely and efficient manner. Their expertise was unique and necessary 
for the successful prosecution of the Action. 
eBay shall also separately pay, subject to Court approval, the three 
Plaintiffs named in the Amended Complaint, $1,000 to reimburse them 
for their time, costs and efforts in representing the Class.

 
III. CONSEQUENCES OF THE SETTLEMENT

 
If the Court approves the settlement, a judgment will be entered 
dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice against eBay and all of its past 
and present officers, directors, shareholders, employees, insures, 
agents, representatives, partners, joint-ventures, parents, 
subsidiaries, affiliates, and attorneys (the "Released Persons"). This 
means that Members of the Class will be barred from bringing their own 
lawsuit against any of the Released Persons relating to eBay's alleged 
practice of raising an eBay bidder's existing bid where no higher 
competing bid had been made, and where raising the bid was not 
necessary to meet a reserve minimum. If you do not want to be barred 
from bring your own lawsuit on such claims, you must validly and 
timely request exclusion from the Class, as set forth below.

 
IV. YOUR OPTIONS

 
  If you are a Class Member, you have the following options:

  
(A) Participate in the settlement. To participate in the settlement, 
you do not need to do anything. If the Court approves the settlement 
and the judgment is not successfully appealed, the terms of the 
settlement will be implemented.

 
(B) Request exclusion from the Class and settlement. If you wish to be 
excluded from the Class and the settlement, you must send a written 
request for exclusion by regular or express mail, so that it is 
postmarked no later than January 30, 2007. Your exclusion request must 
include (1) your name, address, and telephone number; and (2) a 
statement that you wish to be excluded from the Class and settlement 
in Rockers v. eBay, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:05-CV-035930. If you 
submit a valid and timely exclusion request, you will not participate 
in the settlement. You will not be bound by the judgment dismissing 
the lawsuit with prejudice as to Released Persons, and your claims 
will not be released.

 
(C) Comment on the settlement. If you remain in the Class, you may 
comment in support of or in opposition to the settlement. To do so, 
you must, no later than January 30, 2007, file your comment or 
objection with the Court and send copies by regular or express mail to 
Plaintiffs' Counsel at the addresses below:

The Court:

Clerk of the Court
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
Civil Division
191 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Plaintiffs' Counsel:

Jeffrey D. Light
LERACH COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER
          RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP
655 West Broadway, Suite 1900
San Diego, CA 92101-3301

 
 
Your written comment or objection must include (1) your name, address, 
and telephone number; (2) information sufficient to establish your 
membership in the Class; (3) a statement of your views; (4) any 
supporting documentation you wish to submit; and (5) a reference to 
Rockers v. eBay, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:05-CV-035930. If you wish to 
appear and present your objection orally at the fairness hearing 
described in Part V below, your written objection must contain a 
notice that you intend to appear and be heard, a statement of the 
positions you intend to present at the hearing, and any supporting 
arguments. You may, but need not, appear in the lawsuit through your 
own attorney. If you do so, you will be responsible for your own 
attorney's fees and expenses.

 
V. FAIRNESS HEARING

 
A hearing will be held on February 13, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. before the 
Honorable Jack Komar, Superior Court Judge, in Department 17C at the 
Santa Clara Superior Old Courthouse, 161 North First Street, San Jose, 
California 95113. The purpose of the hearing will be to determine (a) 
whether the proposed settlement including the attorneys' fees and 
expenses and service awards that eBay has separately agreed to pay 
should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and should be 
granted; and (b) whether the Action and the claims of the Members of 
the Class should be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to the 
settlement. This hearing may be rescheduled without further notice to 
the Class. You may attend the hearing if you wish, but are not 
required to do so to participate in the settlement.

 
VI. HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION

 
You can get more information by contacting Plaintiffs' Counsel at the 
address listed in Part IV (C). Complete copies of the settlement 
agreement and all other pleadings and papers filed in the lawsuit are 
available for inspection and copying, during regular business hours, 
at the Office of the Clerk of the Court, Superior Court of the State 
of California, County of Santa Clara, Civil Division, 161 North First 
Street, San Jose, CA 95113.

 

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT REGARDING THIS NOTICE.


DATED: November 8, 2006
   BY ORDER OF THE COURT
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
 



 

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3 responses total.

#1 of 3 by cmcgee on Wed Dec 27 14:50:31 2006:

I'm writing a long response offline.  In essence, somebody whined about a
rounding algorithm, eBay settled, and now everyone who might get part of the
less-than-$1.00 per person settlement is being asked to agree to 1) make eBay
pay for all the expenses of this suit, plus $800,000 to the charity of the
plaintiff's choice.  
If you send a letter opting out, you will retain your right to sue the pants
off eBay on this exact point.

If you don't do anything, this scenario will go into effect

If you send a letter asking to be included in the voting, you will get to vote
on the charity.  

You can only vote if you had exactly the same thing happen to you (ie, the
rounding algorithm was used on a bid you placed), making you a member of the
class.

#2 of 3 by fuzzball on Wed Dec 27 16:51:29 2006:

ok.
thanks.

so, do i just ignore it if its never occured to me?

#3 of 3 by cmcgee on Wed Dec 27 16:54:18 2006:

yep, because you aren't a member of the class.

eBay sent you the email because you MIGHT have been a member of that
class (probably sent a letter to everyone who bid over $100 in the
relevent time period).

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