eBay to Craigslist: “BAD SELLER F–!!”

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, now a candidate for governor of California, might have to take a break from the campaign trail soon, as she's expected to be called as a witness in legal dispute between her former employer and Craigslist.

The online auction company, which owns a large minority of stock in Craigslist, filed suit accusing the online classifieds company of illegal manipulating share classes in order to kick eBay off the board.

The relationship between the companies has been tense ever since an early Craigslist employee sold his shares in the company to eBay. It deteriorated irreversibly when eBay started its own competing online classifieds service, Kijiji.

After eBay filed suit, Craigslist filed a countersuit alleging eBay of using their seat on the board to pass along Craigslist's proprietary code and practices to eBay executives like Whitman.

Other witnesses expected to testify are Craigslist cofounder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster, whom eBay alleges originally hatched the plot to dilute its ownership stake.

Jackson West wonders how this case -- especially the countersuit -- might affect Whitman's campaign.