EcommerceBytes-NewsFlash, Number 1335 - August 01, 2006 
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Lawyer Says eBay Won't Talk in Discrimination Lawsuit Case
By Ina Steiner
Scott Crook of Smith Hartvigsen PLLC, the law firm suing eBay on behalf of eBay employee Emmanuel Kepas, said he and his client have wanted to have sit down discussions or mediation with eBay, but eBay has never been willing to do that. Crook said there has only been communication between attorneys in the form of letters. (See http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i31/s01 for information about the lawsuit).
Crook said he has been trying to work something out with eBay, and his client wants to give his side of the story. But, he said, eBay will not meet with Kepas if counsel is present. "I don't know why they would not want us to be there," he said.
Crook says his client has received no settlement offer from eBay. When asked about proof of claims made in the lawsuit, Crook said "everything is supportable by evidence," noting, however, that Kepas' supervisor's spoken statements to his client are not in writing.
"I'm always prepared to go to trial and assume we are,...unless something changes." Kepas is also prepared to go on that assumption, Crook said.
Based on court filing deadlines, Crook said there could be a hearing as early as 2-3 months from now.
eBay spokesperson Catherine England said she could not comment on pending litigation. "However, I can tell you that eBay maintains a no tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind and fosters a creative and diverse workplace in which each employee is treated with dignity, courtesy and respect. The Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring, promoting and compensating employees based on their qualifications and demonstrated ability to perform job responsibilities."
Related Link
Attorney David Fish of The Collins Law Firm included a link to the lawsuit complaint on his blog, Internet and Class Action Law (http://internetandclassactionlaw.blogspot.com)
http://www.collinslaw.com/blogdocs/ebay.pdf
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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