Auction site eBay and several former executives on Wednesday reported settling a lawsuit brought by a Massachusetts couple who say they were subjected to a campaign of stalking and harassment after publishing articles critical of the company's leadership on their blog.

The terms of the settlement, reached just days before what had been expected to be a six-week trial in federal court was set to get underway, were not disclosed.

David and Ina Steiner, who publish EcommerceBytes from their suburban Boston home, found themselves on the receiving end of a series of gruesome mailings — including insects, a bloody pig mask, and a funeral wreath — and were stalked by eBay employees in 2019.

The couple had reported on spending by then-CEO Devin Wenig and alleged he and other executives directed a campaign of retaliation aimed at shutting down their site.

The Steiners sued over the episode in 2021, saying they suffered significant emotional distress as well as damage to their business. They are still publishing the blog, which last week reported on the retail and auction site's test of an artificial intelligence tool.

An attorney for Wenig, Martin Weinberg, told Law360 on Wednesday the parties had reached an agreement in principle to resolve the case.

The agreement is expected to be finalized within 60 days.

Along with eBay and Wenig, the Steiners' lawsuit named communications director Steven Wymer and vice president Wendy Jones. Counsel for the other defendants and eBay did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for eBay directed a reporter to an order entering a provisional dismissal of the case.

Several lower-level employees who had also been named in the suit were dismissed as defendants on Wednesday, according to the case docket.

Federal prosecutors also brought criminal charges against seven lower-level employees — who have since pled guilty to their roles in the harassment and received varying sentences — and charged eBay as a corporate defendant.

The company entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the government in 2024 that led to a $3 million penalty. Last week, the executives, in a motion, sought to prevent the Steiners from citing that agreement in support of their case.

The Steiners and Steiner Associates LLC/eCommerceBytes are represented by Andrew G. Finkelstein, Brian D. Acard, Kenneth B. Fromson, and Lawrence D. Lissauer of Finkelstein & Partners LLP, Marc A. Diller of Diller Law LLP, Christopher R. Murphy of Foster Scalli & Murphy Law PC, Todd S. Garber and Erin Kelley of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, and Max Finkelstein of Jacoby & Meyers LLP.

EBay is represented by Jack W. Pirozzolo, Kathryn L. Alessi, Scott T. Nonaka, Daniel J. Feith, and Emily A. Rose of Sidley Austin LLP.

Wenig is represented by Martin G. Weinberg of Martin G. Weinberg PC, Abbe David Lowell of Lowell & Associates PLLC, and Kelly A. Librera of Winston & Strawn LLP.

Wymer is represented by Caz Hashemi, Melissa Mills, and Trevor Templeton of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC and Lon F. Povich of Anderson & Kreiger LLP.

Jones is represented by Andrew J. O'Connor, Casey Stewart, Christopher Durham, Sarah E. Walters, and William L. Roberts of Ropes & Gray LLP.

The case is Steiner et al. v. eBay Inc. et al., case number 1:21-cv-11181, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.