Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College: Jury awards more than $33 million punitive damages

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram

COPS AND COURTS

Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College: Jury awards more than $33 million punitive damages

The Chronicle-Telegram Published on June 13, 2019 | Updated 4:16 p. m.

ELYRIA — A Lorain County jury has awarded $33.2 million in punitive damages in Gibson’s Bakery in its lawsuit against Oberlin College and Meredith Raimondo, the college’s dean of students. The family business sued the college and its dean of students after protests by students and allegations of racial profiling after a 2016 shoplifting incident in which an Oberlin student tried to use false identification to buy alcohol.

On Friday the same jury awarded Gibson’s business and family members more than $11 million in actual or compensatory damages, bringing the total award to over $44 million. Ohio law limits punitive damages to twice the compensatory amount, which would seem to put the award above the legally permissible amount.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Previous reporting

ELYRIA — “What does it take for a company worth $1 billion to know you care?” That’s the question attorney Lee Plakas asked of the jury in his closing argument today in the punitive damage phase of the Gibson family’s lawsuit against Oberlin College and Meredith Raimondo, the college’s dean of students. Plakas asked jurors to award up to a maximum of $35 million — $5 million to $8 million in damages to Gibson’s Bakery, $6 million to $9 million for Allyn Gibson and $12 million to $18 million for David Gibson.


Read more: http://www.chroniclet.com/cops-and-courts/2019/06/13/Gib.html

---

Original source:

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/448464-bakery-suing-oberlin-college-wins-33-million-in-damages

Bakery suing Oberlin College for libel wins $33M in damages
BY MARINA PITOFSKY - 06/13/19 04:44 PM EDT

Oberlin College must pay an Ohio bakery $33.3 million in punitive damages after students boycotted the business over a racial profiling incident.
....

Thursday’s decision follows a ruling last week, requiring Oberlin to pay $11 million in compensatory damages, bringing the total to over $40 million, the Chronicle-Telegram reported.
....

[oldsoftie]

1. Original verdict was 11M; they got treble damages.

Hard hit to Oberlin.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. SRSLY.

Those were some expensive bottles of wine.

Expect an appeal.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Oberlin's attorneys are laughing their asses off

at the end of the day if this bakery sees more than $350,000 I'll be shocked

[MichMan]

24. Pretty sure they weren't laughing when the amount awarded was announced in court

Most attorney's facing a stinging defeat like this wouldn't find it very funny

[Blue_Tires]

34. They get paid either way so I doubt they're too worried about pride...

[Hortensis]

65. This. As you say, a stinging defeat.

They'll now be known for it.

[FBaggins]

52. Then prepare to be shocked

I predict a still-eight-figure settlement.

There’s no reason not to appeal because the award is so close to the maximum possible... but that will just be pro-forma while settlement talks are held. But their largest leverage now is “you can get this much now or wait a few years through the appeals and the number is still going to come down at least somewhat”

[The Mouth]

5. I was following this

IF Oberlin appeals, and does not win the appeal, the award accrues interest.

Protest by students, even if misguided is free speech; but when staff from an institution get involved with school resources, the school is vulnerable..

[oldsoftie]

27. Apparently not too many understand that point. nt

[Hortensis]

66. Interesting info. Thanks.

[PatrickforO]

74. They might have been Ok if it hadn't come out the kids really

were stealing stuff.

[Blue_Tires]

3. Like I said in the other thread...

No way in fucking hell does this ruling stand up on appeal.

$40 fucking million for some lost contract business?? I've seen wrongful multi-death lawsuits not net anywhere near as much... Just another jury full of far-right uneducated yokels who want to stick it to black folks and "librul" academia...

[The Mouth]

7. My reading of the actual damages:

Only $2,274,500 of the first verdict was in compensation for lost business.

The rest is for Libel (count 1), Tortious Interference with Business Relationships (count 3),

Tortious Interference with Contracts (count 4), and

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (count 6).That last one is the biggie

The facts seem to be that a student tried to buy alcohol with a fake ID and shoplift from Allyn D. Gibson, David Gibson’s son. Allyn D. Gibson followed the student out of the store, and the two got into a physical altercation.

Two other students got involved, and police have said when they arrived the three students were hitting Allyn D. Gibson while he was on the ground.

If the college had not gotten further involved it would have been a trivial incident, in comparison (although probably not for the person getting beaten on by 3 people).

[Blue_Tires]

35. Emotional distress is worth tens of millions?

For fuck's sake... Even Penn State settled their child molestation suit for $60 million, and that had like THIRTY victims(!)

But keep on telling me the emotional distress of some bakery is worth more than a school covering up child molestation on their own grounds...

[The Mouth]

39. Tough shit

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 10:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Cry me a river.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Defamation of character should *HURT*

[Hortensis]

67. Yes, awards are supposed to discourage bad behaviors.

Fining wealthy institutions for what amounts to their pocket change would not serve that societal function.

Thanks again for the additional information. I hadn't been following this.

[FBaggins]

54. You're missing the fact that the vast majority of the awarded amount

Are punitive.

The earlier awards attempt to estimate how much damage was done and award compensation. Punitive damages are awarded as punishment and can vary depending on the offending institution... not just on the damage done.

[The Mouth]

70. "Punitive" awards mean NOTHING

unless they genuinely HURT.

Fine Chevron 2 billion, or Halliburton a few hundred million, chump change, like a $500 an hour lawyer getting a $45 parking ticket.

I dearly wanted to go to Oberlin, and totally appreciate their status as a progressive bastion, but in this case, it was the big, rich entity beating up on the (comparatively ) small guy, when they were in the wrong.

Even if the big entity is a legend, one thing that
makes us 'progressive' is that we hold our own to the same standard as we do the other side, else what are we fighting for?

It's actually a small sign of 'victory' that the charge of "racism" is as toxic as it is.

The fact that all the evidence points out that race had nothing to do with how Gibson's interacted with the shoplifters only even means anything in the context that any business that is flagrant or obvious in being racist can find themselves in a world of hurt, really fast. That was not an obvious assumption even a decade ago.

[jberryhill]

12. "$40 fucking million for some lost contract business?"

No, that was $2M.

This was apparently a relatively substantial business which was devastated by the college getting onto the bandwagon against them. So, the knock-on loss of business from others sounds like it pretty much took them out.

That actual and compensatory damages were $11M.

But beyond that, when you are talking about a substantial multi-generational institution basically burned to the ground by false allegations, I think it is too easy to opine remotely here.

[marble falls]

16. Bullshit. There's nothing there worth millions. As for opining remotely, what about you?

[jberryhill]

18. I meant that the jury probably knows the situation better

For a moderately sized family business to be worth several million dollars is not unusual.

[LisaM]

17. Here's the complaint.

Pretty interesting.


http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2019/images/06/09/gibson.bakery.v.oberlin.college.lawsuit.pdf

[Blue_Tires]

36. Burned to the ground? Literally?

Did they file bankruptcy? Did they have to shut down? Was the entire business lost? I wasn't aware a handful of protesting college kids had that much power??

Regardless, $40 million is probably more than this business made in the entirety of their history...

[jberryhill]

40. "$40 million is probably more than this business made in the entirety of their history"

They've been around since 1895. How much do you think a sizeable bakery with a supplier contract to a local college might make a year?

But yes, that is the difference between compensatory damages and punitive damages.

So, let me ask you something...

If I attack and beat up someone on the street, injure them, and they miss work for two weeks, then I owe them compensatory damages for the medical treatment and their lost wages.

If, on the other hand, I attack and beat up someone on the street, but it turns out they were unemployed, I don't owe them for lost wages obviously, because they haven't lost any.

So the compensatory damages are going to be different.

Now, when it comes to punitive damages - i.e. damages that are not so much geared to compensating my victims for the injuries, but for punishing ME for my behavior and ensuring that I don't do anything like that again - your argument would be that I shouldn't have to pay more than the unemployed guy makes, right? Because somehow the character of my behavior, and a sufficiently punitive amount, is different when the guy wasn't making much.

The compensatory damages here - including to their reputation which will be forever linked to this incident in the future - were not $40M.

But, golly, when Avenatti got tens of millions in punitives (in a case where they are being substantially cut back), everyone thought he was a freaking genius.

[Quackers]

50. You need to quit beating up people on the streets.

[jberryhill]

53. It's a surprisingly difficult habit to break

It's like eating potato chips.

Once you get started... bam.

[oldsoftie]

28. If the "black folks" were the 3 involved, they were not part of this lawsuit.

And they admitted they were guilty of what the owners charged. And that race was not involved.
The College jumped on the bandwagon to appear "enlightened" and never got off of it.

[Blue_Tires]

37. You do realize those kids *can* still be guilty

and that business own *could* still have exhibited racist behavior, right??

These two concepts can exist independently of each other...


I mean Jesus H. Christ... I'm old enough to remember when exorbitant lawsuit payouts were a *bad* thing, but since everyone is cheerleading for this there MUST be something I'm not getting here...

[oldsoftie]

38. The 3 themselves said that race was not a factor

I think the reason most dont have a problem with this is because actions like those taken by the college does more harm than good.
The only way racism could have been a factor would have been if the store owner had called them racist names, since they DID commit a crime and have admitted so. And that didnt happen, he just chased them.

But i also think an appeal will reduce the award by the jury.

[jberryhill]

41. You do realize that not even the kids in question agree with you, right?

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 11:40 AM - Edit history (2)

[MicaelS]

56. And the racism charges could be false.

The pendulum is swinging to "guilty as charged" when someone cries racism. No need to for a pulib trial, just metaphoically burn them at the stake

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Oberlin: We can't change the past, but we can learn from it. Jury: 33 million in punitive damages.

PrinceOfWhalesHat Retweeted

Oberlin: "We can't change the past, but we can learn from it."

Jury: "33 million in punitive damages. Learn from it."

Oberlin's lawyer: "What I meant to say was..."

Link to tweet

Maybe they like their chances on appeal. I would have thought the $11 million clobbering would have given them a taste of the jury's disposition, giving them good reason to settle before the punitives stage.

Link to tweet

[ripcord]

8. This should happen more often when large corporations damage small companies

I knew when the attorney for OC fought to keep the jurors from seeing the demographics of shoplifters arrested at Gibson's that this was all based on emotion rather than fact.

[jberryhill]

9. I've always wondered what Paul Nungesser got out of Columbia, or what Duke forked over...

...to the lacrosse players.

Part of the message here is that academic institutions should not get onboard with crusades against private individuals.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. One, "D. E.," came from Montgomery County, Maryland.

He played lacrosse at Landon, the private school in Bethesda. His father was/is an attorney. He was far enough along in his career that he wasn't scared of Mike Nifong. That's a big reason why his son was able to fight back.

As a result of what happened, D. E. is now working for the Innocence Project.

I can check to be sure.

[jberryhill]

13. Preferable not to follow up, though

There's no reason for any of those persons to have become notable, and should be allowed to just lead their lives.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. No problem. I didn't mean in the sense of stalking them.

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 01:45 PM - Edit history (1)

The other two were "R. S." and "C. F." I think one went into investment banking. The other, I can't recall.

[yardwork]

64. The Duke lacrosse case is different though, in that it was an internal conflict.

Duke behaved in a punitive way toward their own students. They didn't attack a separate company.

I've lived in college towns all my life. I can't recall an instance of a college organizing protests designed to force a small local company out of business, as Oberlin's leadership apparently did.

I do know that many colleges and universities WISH that they had a braver record of speaking out against racist local businesses in the past. Lots of missed opportunities in the 1950s and 60s.

Seems like Oberlin thought they saw a chance to "do the right thing" and badly overreached.

[jberryhill]

68. My University WAS the "racist local business" in those years

[yardwork]

69. Well, yeah! Oberlin was one of the only ones that wasn't.

[exboyfil]

77. There is an undercurrent that they wanted to sweep down

on Gibson's property at below market prices. Colleges are always looking to expand.

What they really needed was a helpful legislature to eminent domain Gibson's like the GOP is so happy to do for businesses.

[The Mouth]

10. More data points

"....The three students were arrested and later pleaded guilty to charges of attempted theft and aggravated trespassing, and each signed an statement saying the incident wasn't based on race.

However, by the day after the incident -- and before the students admitted that they had been trying to rob the bakery -- students had organized a protest in which more than 100 people demonstrated outside the bakery. Students carried signs accusing the bakery owners of white supremacy or simply saying "Fuck Gibson's." Protesters chanted "Gibson's is racist" and handed out pamphlets urging customers not to buy from the bakery and accused the bakery of a history of racism.

Court documents show the university placed a hold on business done with the bakery for a period. The lawsuit alleges Oberlin administrators encouraged students to protest the store and helped organize the demonstration. Raimondo was accused in the suit of helping orchestrate student fervor against Gibson’s, such as by informing law enforcement in advance of the protest on behalf of the demonstrators. The university says any assistance given to demonstrators was simply Oberlin ensuring student safety during a legal protest.

Gibson's maintains that it is not racist, and reacted to shoplifting in the incident in the same way it would have responded had the students been white. But court documents indicate that the student government, for which Raimondo was the adviser, passed a resolution stating Gibson’s was racist. Raimondo also approved the use of university funds to be used to buy gloves for individuals taking part in the protest"

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/10/oberlin-ordered-pay-bakery-11-million-over-protests


I dislike misplaced outrage and false charges of racism for the reason that they genuinely harm us, the liberals and progressives, when we attempt to attack ACTUAL situations that call for outrage and to call out genuinely racist individuals and institutions.

[LisaM]

15. Frankly, I was shocked by the University's actions.

What kind of critical thinking are they teaching at that school (which I thought was in very high regard) if the administration has this sort of unfounded and knee-jerk reaction, and worse, eggs people on in a mob mentality?

[kwassa]

19. college, not university.

[LisaM]

20. I stand corrected! I'm still shocked.

I don't think administrators should have been out there with bullhorns and passing out flyers.

[displacedtexan]

22. Oberlin wanted the bakery building and parking lot.

I read the complaint. All of it. Oberlin jumped into the fire before the facts were revealed & thought they could kill 2 birds with 1 stone: garner diversity cred and get the properties they've coveted for decades.

At some point, Oberlin was between the dreaded rock & hard place. Either way, they were damaging the school's reputation.

I hope the verdict stands. I also hope schools wait until the facts are established before they jump in with their own selfish agendae.

[kwassa]

23. Gibson's is in the middle of a business block.

It would not do Oberlin much good without the rest of the block. I am from Oberlin.

[LisaM]

25. Maybe they've got another facility? It sounds as if they have a corporate business, too.

They were providing baked goods and pizza dough to the college. Maybe they've got a larger facility away from the storefront.

It actually looks charming.

[tammywammy]

29. Oberlin wants the parking lot. n/t

[kwassa]

45. My recollection of the parking lot ....

is that it is a large shared parking lot behind all the businesses on that street. The street parking is pretty easy, too.

[tammywammy]

47. A link to the actual complaint is posted in this thread.

It calls out the parking lot. Oberlin has no right to park in the lot or use it but have even encouraged people to park there.

[kwassa]

60. I looked at the lot via Google maps ...

my memory is correct, it is a big shared lot. The lot is bordered by some college buildings on one side, I think the college conservatory.

[VarryOn]

61. "False charges of racism"...

I have no problem with meaningful legal consequences for false charges of racism or any other social ill (e.g. rape, hate crimes, harassment, etc.). It detracts from the real instances. The actor from Chicago who's been in the news lately for a false hate crime report is a prime example.

While I wouldnt blame them if they werent willing to do so, I do hope Gibson's will show Oberlin a little mercy and settle. We need more forgiveness shown in today's society.

It'll be interesting to see if Oberlin sees enrollment declines after this maelstrom the way the University of Missouri and Evergreen State College did after they went through their own social unrest.

[MichMan]

62. Why would they settle to show mercy ?

Last edited Sat Jun 15, 2019, 08:36 AM - Edit history (1)

If like most trials of this type for civil damages, pre trial settlement offers were likely made by the plaintiffs and rejected. There may be other good reasons for reaching a settlement, but I doubt mercy would be a factor

Wonder if the three students who started the whole chain of events in motion will be expelled or the administrators fired?

[kwassa]

21. I am from Oberlin

I went to high school there, and most of my family went to Oberlin College.

We moved away about 40 years ago, but Gibson's has been there since 1885. The facade of the store looks exactly the same as when I was there; it appears to be Art Deco from the 1930s. I went to school with one of the Gibson kids, who must now be old like me.

This entire lawsuit seems to be people being stupid on both sides of the issue. It is a tragedy, really, and I don't know who to believe. I am on a group with locals, and half the black people on the group think that Gibson's is racist, and half don't.

Oberlin was the first college in the country to admit blacks, and the first to admit women as a co-ed college, in the 1830s. It is a very liberal college town in a largely red surrounding area. It was a station on the Underground Railroad.

Gibson's is not a big business, I believe it is the only bakery in Oberlin, which is a small town.

[exboyfil]

30. What did the Gibson family do?

All I have heard is a whisper campaign about them profiling and being racists. No one ever testified with facts on this point.

[kwassa]

43. All I heard ....

was complaints from some of the older black residents about how they would be followed around in the store, but these are claims from decades ago, too. It is very unclear to me.

I think it was not a good idea to try to grab the shoplifter ....

[3Hotdogs]

31. " people being stupid on both sides..."?

What stupid did Gibson's do? Chase a shoplifter? Maybe stupid because it could have resulted in injury.

Other than that, how is "both sides" different from Trump in Charlestown?

[kwassa]

44. I don't understand your analogy.

Are you talking about Charlottesville? How is this related?

[madaboutharry]

26. Administrators employed by Oberlin

behaved like a-holes. That is how I view this whole sorry saga. Oberlin deserves every bit of pain inflicted by the jury.

I would not be surprised if settlement negotiations have already started between the parties.

[samir.g]

32. This is bullshit

Fucking townie yokels.

[Jake Stern]

33. Nope, it's perfect.

Easily triggered snowflakes and their OC staff/faculty enablers. Million dollar judgments are what happen when folks let that fire in their belly burn up their brain.

[Alea]

46. Ironic comment is ironic

Because that's probably exactly what Oberlin College and more so, Dean Meredith Raimondo said when this all started.

[Dr. Strange]

49. Whatever you say philosslayer.

[samir.g]

58. what?

[Codeine]

63. . . .

[christx30]

55. What was wrong with what Gibson's do?

A student tried to buy alcohol with a fake ID and shoplift from Allyn D. Gibson, David Gibson’s son. Allyn D. Gibson followed the student out of the store, and the two got into a physical altercation.

Two other students got involved, and police have said when they arrived t**he three students were hitting Allyn D. Gibson while he was on the ground.**

Allyn D. Gibson is white and the students are black. The three students pleaded guilty in August 2017 to misdemeanor charges and read statements into the record acknowledging that Allyn D. Gibson was within his right to detain the shoplifter and that his actions were not racially motivated.

But in the two days immediately after the shoplifting incident, **Oberlin College students protested in front of the bakery**

So the students committed multiple crimes. They were confronted by an employee of the store. The store employee was assaulted for his troubles. The kids pleaded guilty to lesser crimes. The school tried to hurt the store, and were handed their butts in court. They probably won’t get the full $33 million, but this should hurt the school. Maybe they’ll butt out on any foolhardy crusades in the future.

[MicaelS]

57. Fucking snowflake college students.

See how easy that is?

[cabot]

42. Didn't Gibson's provide shoplifting statistics re:racial demographics

I believe it showed over 30 were white, less than 10 were other races. I am at work now, so I cannot double check. If this is the case, then the school deserves the judgment against it. Also, the college wanted a pass for first time shoplifters. Such a decision isn’t up to them.

[tammywammy]

48. The police provided the stats.

40 complaints for shoplifting in the previous 5 years and 6 were African Americans.

[cabot]

51. Thanks!

I appreciate the clarification.

[jberryhill]

71. I wonder how many were Oberlin students

That would be sort of interesting. How many snot-nosed rich kids at private college are ripping of the bakery.

[hardluck]

72. 33 of the 40 were students from what I read.

Here's an article in one of the student newspapers (starting on page 3) that discusses how common shoplifting is among the students, including the writer of the article.


https://issuu.com/theoberlingrape/docs/december_1_2017_a7a89147e3b3ea

[kwassa]

73. thank you, great article.

I went to high school with Krista Long. Her father, Bill Long, ran the Oberlin Co-op Book Store for 30 years, now replaced by a Barnes and Noble owned store. I spent much of my high school years browsing in that store. I bought my art supplies there, too. I had to buy canvas next store in the fabric store. As I had no sweet tooth, I spent little time in Gibson's. Stores in Oberlin did not sell wine back then, it was a dry town.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

75. Judge slashes Gibson's Bakery $44 million settlement

Judge slashes Gibson’s Bakery $44 million settlement

A Lorain County judge has cut the $44 million verdict against Oberlin College to Gibson's Bakery to $25 million.

Updated Jun 28, 5:37 PM; Posted Jun 28, 5:35 PM

By The Associated Press

ELYRIA, Ohio — An Ohio judge cut practically in half a $44 million award won by small business owners who accused Oberlin College of ruining their business by encouraging protests against them and branding them racists.

On Thursday, Lorain County Judge John Miraldi reduced the total award to $25 million. He ruled David Gibson should receive $14 million in compensatory and punitive damages, his father and family patriarch Allyn Gibson $6.5 million, and their Oberlin business, Gibson’s Bakery, $4.5 million.

Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar and Board of Trustees President Chris Canavan told alumni during a conference call Thursday night that the school can pay the judgment amount if required but hoped it would be reduced during further legal proceedings, The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported.

The school was ordered earlier this month to pay $44 million — $11 million in compensatory damages and $33 million in punitive — to the Gibsons.
....

Cops and Courts
Judge reduces Gibson's Bakery award to $25 million
Dave O’Brien | The Chronicle-Telegram
Published on June 28, 2019 | Updated 9:31 a. m.

ELYRIA — A Lorain County judge has reduced the total amount of damages won by the Gibson family and Gibson’s Bakery in Oberlin in their recent lawsuit to just more than $25 million against Oberlin College.

In a three-page judgment entry handed down Thursday, Common Pleas Judge John Miraldi reduced by almost half the jury’s $44 million award, which had consisted of more than $11 million in compensatory damages and $33 million in punitive damages.

Those damages were awarded to the plaintiffs following a six-week trial in which jurors found Oberlin College and its vice president and dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, damaged the century-old business relationship the college and bakery shared, as well as libeled the Gibson family.

The reduction in damages was not unexpected, several legal experts who have been following the case told The Chronicle-Telegram.

The three plaintiffs in the case — David Gibson, Allyn W. Gibson and Gibson Bros. Inc. — will receive a total $25,049,000, according to a tally of the figures in Miraldi’s judgment.
....

[madville]

76. I can't believe that dean is still employed there

Why would someone in that position take part in organizing protests against a local business?

[exboyfil]

78. Update: Three panel Ohio appeals court upholds $31M of judgement

On to the Supreme Court I guess.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

79. Wow. Thanks for the update.

When I saw there was a response in the thread, I figured it was a spammer making its first post at DU.

And good morning.

[exboyfil]

80. You too.

I just have to wonder how liberals and Democrats can get to these tasty awards. It seems only corporations (see voting machine companies) achieve it. There seems like lots of causes of action by election officials particularly in Georgia.