Getting Paid
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Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College was an Ohio legal case concerning libel, tortious interference, and infliction of distress. The case ultimately involved questions about the responsibilities of universities during student protests.
The case began in 2016 with an incident of shoplifting by an Oberlin College student at Gibson's Bakery. Following the arrests of three students related to the shoplifting incident, students, faculty members, and employees of Oberlin College protested against the bakery, alleging racism.
Meredith Raimondo, the dean of students and vice-president at Oberlin college, took part in the protest, distributing a pamphlet falsely alleging racism on the part of the bakery. Oberlin initiated financial sanctions against the bakery, while lending material support to protestors. The owners of the bakery sued Oberlin College and Raimondo for damages.
In 2019, a jury found that the college had defamed the owner of Gibson's Bakery and his family, and awarded them $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Following the jury verdict, the trial judge reduced the total award to $25 million, due to Ohio state law capping punitive damages.
The trial court also awarded $6 million for legal fees. The College appealed that decision. In 2022, the Ninth Ohio District Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 2019 jury verdict which found that the college defamed, inflicted distress, and illegally interfered with Gibson's Bakery, and upheld the damages award. Oberlin College then sought review by the Supreme Court of Ohio, but that effort failed when the Court declined to accept jurisdiction on August 30, 2022.[1][2]
On September 8, 2022, Oberlin College announced that it would no longer contest the matter and would pay Gibson's Bakery the sum of $36.59 million representing the judgment with interest.[3][4]
