eBay sues Craigslist as family squabble goes public

eBay has taken a family squabble with eBay public and it could get messy. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, the online auction house sued Craigslist, the online provider of classified ads for hookers, used toasters and room-mates that is 28.4 per cent owned by eBay. eBay claims that …

[ben edwards]

Delaware?

Aren't they both California-founded/based companies? Methinks ebay needs a map to find a better-suited court forum.

[kain preacher]

Court shopping

Friendly to these type of law suits. THats why the RIAA files the initial law suit against you in Delaware.

[Keller Drozdick]

@ delaware?

It is relatively common for corporations in the US, whatever their actual location, to be technically incorporated in Delaware; apprarently favorable corporate tax schecule, etc. I worked for a company with only two locations, both industrial plants in Texas, and no historical ties outside the state, but the company was incorporated in Delaware.

[Magellan]

Yes, Delaware

Chances are both companies are incorporated in Delaware. Over half of all U.S. publicly traded corporations are incorporated in Delaware.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_corporation

[Matt]

Extremely common

Most public and many private corporations are incorporated in Delaware thanks to beneficial state laws and a court system that specializes in lawsuits like this.

[Paul Wain]

@ben edwards

Many US companies incorporate in Delaware - especially California ones. Its to do with the state's preferential tax treatment for earnings. I believe Nevada and Washinton state are the other 2 common ones but I could be wrong.

Anyway, you have to sue the company where its incorporated, so a lot of these things go to court in Delaware. (Now I think about it, quite a few must use Texas too since thats another place where lawsuites are commonly homed).

Paris since she's probably confused by this too.

[Webster Phreaky]

CraigsWhorelist.com only caters to the internet buyer flakes.

First - Delaware is ware, er where all disreputable companies incorporate because Delaware is ware it is the toughest to sue a company by a consumer, allows the most vague of corporate tenants, and there are more lawyers per sq inch than even Califlakia.

Craigslist USED TO BE good, now 99% of the buyers are flakes that call or write and promise to buy and never show up; or they are farming for your phone number and email address (when you reply) so they can Spam your phone or email. Then again, 80% of those selling stuff - even their pussy's - are con artists too.

Of course eBay is just a high-priced whore anyway too, at least you'll get paid if it sells ..... after eBay rips you off with all their fees!

[Nexox Enigma]

Re: Delaware

Everyone wants to incorporate in Delaware because the laws or taxes or something favor large companies. And it isn't just this suit - Loads of large lawsuits get held there, like the most recent AMD vs Intel deal, if memory serves.

[Anonymous Coward]

@if memory serves

As was written:

> Loads of large lawsuits get held there, like the most recent

> AMD vs Intel deal, if memory serves.

Oh - fine - if memory serves!

Congratulations - you are now a party to the RAMBUS lawsuits...

Good job. Hope you have the deep pockets, and more...

[Doug Bird]

The other two

The other two tax havens are Nevada and Wyoming (not Washington), but usually with smaller-time companies and nutty fools bother incorporating in those places. Serious corporations (especially public traded ones) don't risk dealing with a corporate law environment that is less well known and understood than Delaware's.

[heystoopid]

Hmmm,

Hmmm , in Delaware there are some very unique corporate laws designed especially to be used against hostile take overs and favorably allow share or stock holder dilution too under majority rules !

It also has a few other corporate tricky and friendly laws as well!

Love the fire breathing "El Reg" banner bird does this mean a new icon is coming or one is about to be well and truly toasted so as to speak ?

[Anonymous Coward]

"or the sale of eBay's stake in Craigslist to an unfriendly party"

I can see it now..

L@@K sale of shares in top net company!!!!!! Lik new!!!!!! Only used once!!! No reserve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From 99p!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!! Real bargin!!!!!!

Oh, and why are eBay no longer an online tat bazaar?

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: Hmmm,

"Love the fire breathing "El Reg" banner bird does this mean a new icon is coming or one is about to be well and truly toasted so as to speak ?"

As today is April 23 - in UK the day of St. George (saint of England despite minimal links with the UK) who according to fairy stories / myth / the church / history (delete according to your gullibility factor) fought a fire breathing dragon, then maybe a hint?

[Anonymous Coward]

@heystoopid

"Love the fire breathing "El Reg" banner bird does this mean a new icon is coming or one is about to be well and truly toasted so as to speak ?"

1) Think about where El Reg is based.

2) What date is it?

3) Try and put answers 1 & 2 together.

Bloody colonials.

[heystoopid]

@ac

@ac those "Bloody Colonials" if truth be told saved blighty's bacon three times in under sixty years and kept the country from starving when the iron wolves were feasting very well in the Atlantic Ocean in their hour of need !

Or who can forget the just how many colonials kept the condors at bay either , sadly the true unsung heroes and unarmed non combatants who made this possible have been forgotten yet again !

At least they have the wit to celebrate a certain noted Sea Lords folly and defeat though to remember all those that made the ultimate sacrifice .

[Anonymous Coward]

@heystoopid

Umm... Sense of humour failure there?

And you still haven't told us what day it is :)

True story from Ark Royal (one of the small UK boats that we used to fly war planes off.) You USN Ensign came into the Wardroom. Looked around puzzled, then asked in a loud voice, "Why aren't we celebrating?" The room went silent. "Celebrating what?" purred the Ships Commander. "Why 4th of July of course. INDEPENDENCE DAY." The Ensign declared gleefully. "And perhaps you could tell me," continued the Commander, "independence from whom?" Exit red faced Ensign. Seen next day with a hammer on the flight deck, repairing the tiny holes in the jet blast deflectors. While wearing his best suit.

[TMS9900]

@heystoopid

Er, actually the US of A didn't 'save' our bacon at all.

I presume you are (in the main) referring to WWII.

If so, I would respectfully point out that the United Kingdom took out a 60 year mortgage with the USA, to pay for military equipment (all the second cluinker tat that the USA didn't want) and man power. We paid that mortgage off two or three years ago.

We paid for it in. In cash. Simple as that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like Mr. Phreaky's found a new axe to grind...

Personally, I've used Craigslist *many* times - for both selling and buying stuff, and for finding apartments - and haven't found any fakes. Yes, if you answer an ad going, "Hot blonde busty minx looking for fivesome with scrawny, pimply dorks!" it's probably not real. Color me shocked.

But I've managed to get a $2500 electric movie screen for $100, a $800 plasma TV for $120, and sell / give away a bunch of crap I don't need. I absolutely love CL. Maybe Mr. Phreaky lives in some kind of awful neighborhood, but having used CL both upstate and in NYC I haven't seen the kind of stuff he's talking about; certainly not on any large scale.

Maybe Craigslist is where Webster got his first Apple.

[Anonymous Coward]

@heystoopid @ac @TMS9900

@heystoopid

A generous gift is not one if it's thrown back in the face of the recipient afterwards.

@ac

As I always like to say, the colonial terrorists only won their war of independance after because Cornwallis - after winning the first 7 battles - removed his front-line troops to go and fight a real war against the French. The remaining conscripts and colonial scum weren't quite as much of a match.

Moreover, I also always like to say that the UK just found a better way to administer the colonies. Which foreign country owns the most US-based corporations (clue: not Japan)?

@TMS9900

The loans were true, but the UK paid just a fraction of what was gifted. Moreover, USA gave blood as well as iron.

[John]

Somehow...

..this thread has turned from an ebay vs cragislist discussion to a UK vs US discussion. Strange coincidence...? I THINK NOT!

[Anonymous Coward]

How about that Torchwood show?

<Nervously tries to change the subject>

As someone who had watched Doctor Who for years, and only recently caught up with Torchwood, I have to tip my hat to what the UK allows on TV after 10pm. When they said "shit" uncensored, I was surprised. When they said "fuck" I was in awe. And that sex scene in episode two of season one? Never allowed on US TV even after 10pm.

<Yank tips hat to all over the pond>

[Jon]

@AC Torchwood

I agree, and Torchwood actually surprised me too, not enough to sit and watch it - then again, I haven't sat down and watched television for about 10 years now. I even missed the whole 'Big Brother' thing (read the books instead - no need to watch a poor application of a psychosocial "limited interaction" experiment). Oh, and no sports either - I stopped watching the Grand Prix when it became boring and never picked it up again, which was about 10 years ago.