Gibson’s Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio, is a family business which started in 1885. It sells lots of different baked goods along with wine and other foods.
The facts of how the Oberlin College vs Gibson Bakery saga began are not in dispute.
On November 9, 2019, a black Oberlin College student attempted to steal a few bottles of wine. This was noticed by employees. When they attempted to detain and photograph the culprit, they were attacked by several other people who were with the student. The fracas went out to street. Allyn Gibson who was following the culprit was attacked.
The police were called. The Oberlin town police department has posted the Incident Report online. The perpetrator and two associates were arrested.
Those three students eventually pleaded guilty, and police stats showed that Gibson’s did not engage in racial profiling. The students read statements into the record that Gibson was within his rights to detain the robber and that the conflict was not racially motivated.
As Trey James, a black employee of Gibson’s noted,
“When you shoplift, you get arrested. It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is or your religion or your ethnicity. If you shoplift, you get busted,”
At Oberlin College this incident immediately became the cause du jour. Why? Because a black student had been arrested. This must be a clear case of racial profiling and discrimination. If this had been a white student, the incident would have disappeared from the college campus memories faster than roadrunner getting from one side of the street to the other.
Protests ensued. Gibson’s was targeted as a business with “a long history of discrimination.” None of this was true. Gibson’s fought back in court with a defamation lawsuit against the college and administration. On Friday a jury found for Gibson’s.
It has been proven in court that Oberlin College administrators were complicit in a campaign to defame the family and business. A dean, one Meredith Raimondo, was held liable on the libel and interference with business relations.
Extensive coverage of the trial can be found here.
The jury awarded a total of $11.2 million to Gibson’s. This week the court proceedings will be about punitive damages (up to $22.4 million).
Oberlin College has a liability insurance policy with Lexington Insurance Company. Last month Lexington filed documents with the court indicating that its umbrella liability policy would not cover costs of any judgment for the plaintiffs. That means that if, whenever the appeals process has run its course, the plaintiffs move to collect the $11.2 million (plus whatever punitive damages – up to $22.4 more – are awarded this week), Lexington likely won’t pay and Oberlin would have to sue for reimbursement. That means for legal expenses for Oberlin.
If Oberlin is not successful, coming up with $11 to $33 million will cause additional cuts to its budget. Significant cutbacks are already underway. Perhaps a review of the need for all of the deans they have could be a source of belt tightening. I doubt if facilitating SJW protests is in any dean’s job description. With its reputation as an SJW hellhole spreading, applications and enrollment have declined significantly. This is not unlike what happened at the University of Missouri a couple of years back.
When will administrators at these so-called institutions of higher learning wake up and realize that kowtowing to and facilitating every imbecilic demand coming from the students entrusted to their care is unwise? Perhaps a few more such verdicts would do more than any reasoned discourse might.