'Truth Still Matters': Appeals Court Orders Oberlin College to Pay $25M to Local Bakery It Labeled 'Racist'

An Ohio appeals court has unanimously upheld a $25 million judgment against Oberlin College in Ohio, awarded to Gibson's Bakery after it successfully argued it was libeled by the school following a shoplifting incident almost six years ago.  

In addition, the three-judge panel of the 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron also upheld a $6.3 million payment by the college located near Cleveland for the bakery's attorney's fees.

The judges also agreed with Lorain County Judge John Miraldi's decision rejecting Oberlin College's motion for a new trial. 

The family-owned Gibson's Bakery located in downtown Oberlin became the focus of a smear campaign after a black student was chased and apprehended by the son of the bakery's owners for allegedly stealing a bottle of wine. Two other black students who were friends of the individual became involved during the incident, according to multiple news outlets. 

All three students were arrested and pled guilty to misdemeanor charges, according to court documents. 

After the incident, the bakery was subjected to massive student activist protests and boycott attempts in which Oberlin officials and administrators also participated, according to The College Fix. 

The outlet also reported that court documents showed Oberlin College officials even used university funds to purchase food and cold weather gear for student demonstrators.

The website Legal Insurrection reports witnesses also testified at trial that a flyer was distributed at the protests by the college's former Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo, which accused the Gibsons of having a long history of racial profiling, including the shoplifting incident. 

The college's Student Senate also passed a resolution condemning the bakery's owners and it was emailed to all students and was posted in a display case at the school's student center, where it remained for a year. Oberlin College officials ordered the school's campus food provider to stop buying bakery items from Gibson's.

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Store owners Allyn Gibson and son David Gibson sued the college in November 2017 claiming they had been libeled by the school and their business had been harmed.

A jury in June 2019 awarded the owners $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A judge later reduced the award to $25 million because of a state cap on punitive damages, WKYC reported. 

Oberlin's attorneys later appealed the judgment and the case was heard before the appeals court in November of 2020. It had remained there until the court handed down its 50-page ruling last week. 

David Gibson and "Grandpa" Allyn W. Gibson, the two lead plaintiffs in the case, did not live to see the appeals court verdict. 

The family's attorney Lee Plakas told The Chronicle-Telegram, "The Gibsons fought the good fight, as the family has done for over 130 years. Somewhere high above us, Grandpa and Dave Gibson are smiling to know that the truth still matters."

Plakas said the unanimous appeals court decision "shows that the judges recognized the importance of the case on both a regional and national level and methodically and insightfully dissected the evidence and the record which supported the verdict." 

"I was very impressed with the judges' command of and reference to specific evidentiary portions of the very large record that confirmed, even to the judges, that in fact truth does still matter," he said.
 
Oberlin Director Of Media Relations Scott Wargo told Legal Insurrection the college "is obviously disappointed that the appeals court affirmed the judgment in its ruling earlier today. We are reviewing the Court's opinion carefully as we evaluate our options and determine next steps."

"In the meantime, we recognize that the issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved in the lawsuit, but for the entire Oberlin community," the statement continued. "We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. We will continue in that important work while remaining focused on our core educational mission."