Oberlin College

An appeals court has upheld a verdict that says the Ohio college must pay the bakery it labeled as racist up to $31 million.

Oberlin College is a small liberal arts college in northern Ohio and has been known for its left-wing politics. Oberlin College in Ohio has been ordered by three judges on the Ninth District Court of Appeals to pay a record $31 million to a 135-year-old mom-and-pop bakery that the institution falsely accused of racism. The three Black students were arrested, but then other students from Oberlin College began protesting the 135-year old family bakery.

Barring an appeal to Ohio's Supreme Court, Oberlin College will have to pay out $31 million for supporting false claims that a local bakery discriminated ...

Upholding the original verdict, the appeals court shot down three issues raised by Oberlin College and one by the Gibson family. According to court documents, some 200 to 300 protesters demonstrated outside Gibson’s Bakery in November 2016 following the confrontation between Allyn Gibson and a student. We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. The Gibsons lawyered up, went to court and won. A shoplifting incident in 2016 led to student protests and accusations of racism against the bakery. Gibson’s Bakery sued the college in 2017 after Allyn D. Gibson—an employee whose father and grandfather owned the bakery—confronted three Black Oberlin students, one of whom was caught stealing wine.

An Ohio appeals court has upheld a $25 million judgment against Oberlin College awarded to a local business that successfully claimed it was libeled by the ...

They claimed the school harmed their business and libeled them after three students were arrested, who later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. They added that they would carefully look over the 50-page opinion before deciding what their next step would be. A jury in June 2019 awarded store owners Allyn Gibson and his son, David Gibson, $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

An Ohio appeals court upheld a $25 million libel judgment against Oberlin College related to racism allegations it allegedly perpetuated against a local ...

The students were also reportedly told they could make more copies of the flyers in the conservatory office on campus. The Gibsons subsequently sued the university and Raimondo in a 33-page complaint filed in November 2017. On Nov. 9, 2016, three Black students were shopping at Gibson’s when Allyn D. Gibson reportedly suspected one of them was shoplifting wine and trying to use a fake ID, the appeals court said. Allyn Gibson died at age 93 in February of this year. The jury initially awarded the bakery $44 million in damages, but a judge later capped it at $25 million, Inside Higher Ed reported. During the time frame in question, it was owned by Allyn W. Gibson — also known as Grandpa Gibson — and his son, David R. Gibson. “We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. Between 200 and 300 students reportedly attended, including Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo. Oberlin made arguments on appeal regarding whether the Gibsons were private or public figures in the eyes of the law, whether the bakery had a business relationship with the college and whether the conduct of its administrators in the aftermath of the incident was “extreme and outrageous” enough to constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress — all of which the appeals court rejected. A three-judge panel in Ohio’s 9th District Court of Appeals rejected Oberlin College’s arguments in a 50-page opinion published on Thursday, March 31. We will continue in that important work while remaining focused on our core educational mission.” Flyers decrying Gibson’s as a “racist establishment with a long account of racial profiling and discrimination” were handed out during the protest, according to the judges’ summary, and the student senate subsequently voted to condemn the business in a resolution, which was displayed in the student center for nearly a year.