If you can remember back to 2011, you might recall the story of Patrick Rodgers, the Philadelphia homeowner who successfully sued Wells Fargo over an error in his mortgage servicing — and then “foreclosed” on a neighborhood Wells branch when the bank didn’t make good on the judgement. Now Patrick’s back in the news with a suit against eBay, which he claims shut down his seller account over a case of mistaken identity.

Earlier this year, Rodgers found that his eBay store, which had some $20,000 worth of merchandise listed on it, had been summarily shut down by the online auction and marketplace because of a “high volume of bad buyer experiences.”

Problem is, those user complaints were not actually directed at him or his store. Instead, the complaints were lodged against the user who had sold him the eBay storefront he now uses several years earlier.

Rodgers had paperwork, including a copy of the $11,000 cashier’s check, but he says it still required more than 30 calls and e-mails in order to get his store re-opened. Ultimately, his storefront was shuttered for 46 days and all he received for his trouble was an e-mail from eBay apologizing for the inconvenience.

And so Rodgers sued eBay in Philadelphia Municipal Court for $5,000 in an attempt to recoup the money he says he would have made during that month and a half. He tells the Philadelphia Inquirer that eBay recently offered to settle the entire mess for $2,500.

Jeff Gelles: Yanked by eBay, a merchant fights back [Philly.com]

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