Topic: Seller files Feedback Lawsuit

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Posted at May 1, 2006, 10:56 pm:

Business owner presses suit over eBay bidder's feedback

Monday, May 01, 2006
BY MATT MILLER
Of the Carlisle, PA Bureau, The Patriot-News

CARLISLE - David Cordier insists his legal beef with Kevin Martin isn't merely about money.

He claims Martin tried to ruin his business reputation on eBay, the Internet auction site.

Cordier owns Cordier Antiques & Fine Art of Camp Hill and writes an antiques and collectibles column for The Patriot-News. He contends Martin caused him to lose thousands of dollars by refusing to honor the winning bids that Martin placed during a celebrity memorabilia auction.

Then, Cordier said, the Las Vegas man posted feedback messages on eBay, calling him a cheat.

"He libeled me," Cordier said. "That's why I pursued it."

Cordier must find somewhere other than Cumberland County Court to resolve the dispute.

President Judge Edgar B. Bayley dismissed a lawsuit Cordier filed after concluding his court doesn't have jurisdiction. Martin is from out of state, Bayley noted, and, under established law, has not done enough Internet business in Pennsylvania for the dispute to come under the county court's authority.

"Our position was it's unfair to bring someone in from Nevada" for the case, said Michael F. Socha, Martin's lawyer.

Socha said he couldn't discuss Cordier's allegations.

Cordier said he isn't surprised by Bayley's decision and is considering whether to sue Martin in Nevada or in federal court.

"I do plan to take it to the next level, whatever that may be," he said.

Eileen Kane, a Dickinson School of Law professor versed in Internet law, said Bayley's ruling is to be expected since it usually is considered unfair to haul an out-of-state defendant into a local court unless he has substantial business dealings in the plaintiff's home state.

"A posting on the Internet may not rise to that level of conduct," she said.

Kane said the legal community is wrestling with new issues posed by the growing online trade. "This is a very fluid and dynamic area of the law," she said.

The Cordier-Martin dispute stems from an aborted eBay deal in 2004.

According to Cordier, who had more than $475,000 worth of eBay sales that year, Martin reneged on online bids totaling $4,500 for ten lots of photographs of celebrities.

Cordier said he had to relist the items and sold them to another bidder for $3,137 less than what Martin bid. He said he also had to post a "payment not received" feedback message regarding Martin so he could get a reimbursement from eBay for his listing fees.

Martin reacted by filing 10 "malicious and false feedbacks" accusing him of being, among other things, "crooked and dishonorable," Cordier's suit stated.

Cordier said he has made more than 6,000 sales on eBay with a 99.8 percent customer satisfaction rate.

"I sell to all 50 states and 30 foreign countries," he said, adding that his online sales have included a 1960 Cadillac convertible and a $120,000 Rolls-Royce.

He said he went to court after attempts to handle the dispute through eBay's conflict-resolution system failed.

In his Cumberland suit, Cordier asked that Martin be ordered to pay him for the loss he sustained from the aborted bids, plus $35,000 in libel damages.

Also, he wanted a court order requiring eBay to purge the negative feedback comments from Martin. Cordier said eBay requires court orders to change feedback logs.

Catherine England, a spokeswoman for eBay in San Jose, Calif., said such arguments don't usually end up in court.

"What we encourage people to do is talk to one another. Most of the time, there's just a misunderstanding," she said.

Negative feedback can be rescinded by mutual agreement, England said.

The possibility of a dispute ending up in court is always there, however, since "every bid on eBay is considered a legal contract," she said.

"This is an example of how seriously people take feedback on eBay," England said. "Many people make their living or a part of their living on eBay. It's their livelihood, and they do take it personally."

MATT MILLER: mmiller@patriot-news.com

Original of the message was taken from http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/

Replies:

I read this earlier this morning.


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