A Detroit judge today overturned a default ruling in an antitrust suit against eBay, giving the company another chance to plead its case in court.
The suit was brought by six eBay sellers looking to change eBay's payments policy. Previously, a judge had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs after eBay failed to respond to the suit in the allotted time. Last month, eBay asked the court to overturn the ruling to give it more time to respond.
Judge John Corbett O'Meara agreed.
"Federal policy strongly favors allowing parties to resolve their disputes at trial rather than by default," O'Meara said. "In this case, defendants' default was not willful. Counsels for both sides had engaged in some, albeit brief, negotiations in an attempt to settle the matter. There is no indication that defendants simply ignored the complaint."
The sellers filed the class-action suit in April seeking unspecified damages and the withdrawal of eBay's requirement that sellers accept PayPal, an eBay subsidiary, as a payment method.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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