Chancellor William B. Chandler III, predicted last year, in urging the parties to settle their differences, that neither eBay nor Craigslist would be pleased by his ruling in the case, reportedly saying, “I have an uncanny ability to make everyone unhappy.”

Nine months after the trial, which was heard December 7-17, 2009, Chancellor Chandler appears to have made good on his promise.

eBay’s 28.4% stake in Craigslist, which had been diluted by Craigslist to 24.85%, is returned to its full 28.4%.

However, Craigslist prevailed in its attempt to keep eBay from sitting on its board, which was one of Craigslist’s objectives in enacting the invalidated rights plan.

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Update: Link to Chancellor Chandler’s opinion in eBay v. Craigslist (PDF), and be sure not to overlook footnote 23.

On the 9th day of testimony in the eBay v. Craigslist trial, eBay counsel dogged final witness Ananda Martin, a Perkins Coie associate who in a memo had characterized Craigslist’s proposed strategy as “crafty,” by leaving a Black’s Dictionary definition on display during much of Martin’s cross-examination.  Martin testified that by using the word “crafty” she had intended to convey that Buckmaster’s idea was “creative,” and meant it as a compliment.

After Martin’s testimony, the Court went off record to work out the final trial logistics.  Expert depositions, including video depositions, and exhibits will be submitted to the judge for review, as well as post-trial briefings and objections.  It is not clear when Chancellor Chandler will render his decision.

Visit CVN to watch a complete, gavel-to-gavel on-demand replays of the trial, or just watch selected video highlights clips from each day of the eBay v. Craigslist trial. 

Craigslist counsel Ed Wes completed his testimony Thursday morning, and Perkins Coie associate Ananda Martin took the stand.  Martin helped craft the shareholder rights plan that is at the heart of the eBay Craigslist dispute.

Martin testfied, “Mr. Buckmaster takes a hands-on approach and likes to be involved earlier than many other CEOs I have worked with.” 

CVN‘s coverage continues gavel-to-gavel, with complete trial live and on-demand webcasts, as well as video highlights clips. 

The CVN eBay-Craigslist trial coverage was interrupted briefly this morning due to a power outage at the Delaware Chancery Court (the courtroom went dark and the judge left the bench).  When testimony resumed, questions to Craigslist counsel Ed Wes focused tightly on the development and implementation of the Craigslist corporate governance provisions at issue in the trial, as well as the options considered.

Asked whether eBay’s proposed information firewalls were sufficient to obviate the need for a staggered board of directors, Wes testified, “eBay should have had firewalls in place all along.  This is stunningthat they’re only putting in firewalls after they launched acompetitive threat.  We didn’t trust eBay.” 

The eBay trial is being webcast live by Courtroom View Network.  CVN is also making video highlights of the eBay trial available for each day.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster’s testimony filled Day 6 of the eBay v. Craigslist trial.  On direct examination, Buckmaster testified that eBay CEO Meg Whitman promised him, “CEO-to-CEO,” that if Craigslist did not want to be acquired, they would gracefully unwind the deal.

CVN’s live trial webcast continues.  The first week’s video highlights clips are also now available. 

The eBay-Craigslist battle continued when Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster (6’8″) began his testimony.  Buckmaster met with eBay’s Garrett Price over beer and chicken wings. “He said that unlike Google, it was common for eBay to acquire a minority interesting and hold it for an unlimited time.”

The CVN webcast is available live and on-demand.  CVN also offers video highlights of each day.

On the 5th day of the eBay-Craigslist trial, Cooley Godward litigation partner Michael Rhodes pressed hard on Craigslist founder Craig Newmark during cross-examination, challenging Newmark to deny that the eBay-Craigslist agreement never said that eBay would not compete with Craigslist, and that that agreement expressly stated it was the entire agreement between the parties.

CVN webcasts the eBay-Craigslist trial live and on-demand, and also offers video clips of the trial.

Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark began to offer testimony in the eBay v. Craigslist Trial on Day 4 of the trial.

Craig Newmark: “[Meg Whitman] said that eBay would be comfortable with a courtship lasting a few years…and if we didn’t get married we would part amicably…[So] we decided that eBay could be trusted and we proceeded with the deal.” 

CVN is webcasting the eBay trial live, and also offering video highlights of eBay v. Craigslist.