VERDICT: Jury awards Gibson’s Bakery $11 million against Oberlin College

[Cyber Liberty]

@sneakypete

Yes, it is legally possible.  After the punitive damage award comes down, there will likely be some feelers sent out by one side or the other regarding potential settlement.  Defendants have a motivation to settle because they don't want to get whacked with the entire award.  Plaintiffs will want to get their money sooner, and won't want to risk having the verdict reversed or judgment reduced on post-trial motion and appeal.  There's also the issue of insurance.  If there is a coverage dispute, one way to resolve that is for the insurance company to agree to fund part of a settlement.  That puts more pressure on the defense to settle because paying only half of a $12M settlement is much better than potentially getting stuck with the entirety of a $33M award.

Ordinarily there would probably be a settlement or an appeal that would reduce the award, but the College seems bound and determined to fight to the bitter end, and the Plaintiffs are confident they have a solid "win."  Looks like two trains running to me.

But I don't think punitive damages are determined and awarded.   There's just too many moving parts, and too much information the decision-makers will have to ingest before they'll be able to agree to a settlement.  Of course, they may not be able to agree at all, and it'll just go right on up on appeal.

Absolutely correct.  Neither side knows at this point what the opening negotiating position will be until the full amount is known.  Plaintiffs are confident there will be a large punitive award is coming, the College is equally convinced they'll take it all back on appeal.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Ordinarily there would probably be a settlement or an appeal that would reduce the award, but the College seems bound and determined to fight to the bitter end, and the Plaintiffs are confident they have a solid "win."  Looks like two trains running to me.

Absolutely correct.  Neither side knows at this point what the opening negotiating position will be until the full amount is known.  Plaintiffs are confident there will be a large punitive award is coming, the College is equally convinced they'll take it all back on appeal.

The public posturing by some at the College regarding the verdict may not be shared by the Board of Governors or others who actually have control of the purse strings.  The GC and Dean Raimondo may be willing to fight to the end with an appeal to validate themselves, but I'm not sure the people who really are in charge will agree.

That being said, you may be right.  The College may make a decision that the legal issue is of sufficient importance to test it on appeal.  But there are some pretty bad facts that hurt what might otherwise be a pretty good legal case.

[Hoodat]

The public posturing by some at the College regarding the verdict may not be shared by the Board of Governors or others who actually have control of the purse strings.  The GC and Dean Raimondo may be willing to fight to the end with an appeal to validate themselves  .  .  .

That's because they are only risking other people's money, not their own.  Typical liberals.

[txradioguy]

The spokesperson for the college did the right thing after the verdict...didn't want to comment on a current matter before th court.

The College's chief counsel however...

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The spokesperson for the college did the right thing after the verdict...didn't want to comment on a current matter before th court.

The College's chief counsel however...

I "suspect" that the General Counsel inserted herself frequently and aggressively into trial preparation/strategy.

[Wingnut]

The arrest report from the day.  Very detailed as to what transpired.  And yet the college was having none of those nasty facts get in the way of them condoning the lynching a business.

https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Oberlin-Police-Dept-Incident-Report-Gibsons-Bakery.pdf

[Hoodat]

The arrest report from the day.  Very detailed as to what transpired.  And yet the college was having none of those nasty facts get in the way of them condoning the lynching a business.

https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Oberlin-Police-Dept-Incident-Report-Gibsons-Bakery.pdf

Wow!  The university put it's financial neck on the line for that thug?

[Cyber Liberty]

Wow!  The university put it's financial neck on the line for that thug?

I guess Oberlin thought they would get away with beating down stupid Townies.

[Wingnut]

I guess Oberlin thought they would get away with beating down stupid Townies.

Leading the charge was Oberlin College dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, who joined the baying mob in bullying the Gibson family. She disseminated flyers libelously asserting that Gibson’s is a “racist establishment with a long account of racial profiling and discrimination.”

Never mind that the “racism” charge is a brazen lie. As the police department pointed out, since 2011, there had been four robberies at the store including Aladin's, “and he was the only black person. There were 40 adults arrested for shoplifting in five years, and 32 were white. There were six adult black suspects arrested and two Asians, and 33 of the 40 were college students.”

And never mind that Trey James, a Gibson’s employee who is himself black, bluntly told the student newspaper that race had nothing to do with the incident. “If you’re caught shoplifting, you’re going to end up getting arrested,” he told the Oberlin Review. “When you steal from the store, it doesn’t matter what color you are. You can be purple, blue, green, if you steal, you get caught, you get arrested.”

Oberlin needs to go down, and go down hard. 

[Sanguine]

"33 of the 40 were college students”?

83% were Oberlin students?  That doesn't make Oberlin look very good.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

"33 of the 40 were college students”?

83% were Oberlin students?  That doesn't make Oberlin look very good.

To the contrary, it says they're true to their principles.  They weren't stealing.  They were just redistributing wealth from an exploitative, white-owned capitalist business to the masses.

[Wingnut]

"33 of the 40 were college students”?

83% were Oberlin students?  That doesn't make Oberlin look very good.

Neither did this:

One year ago Oberlin College filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the institution from Gibson’s Bakery, which was asking for more than $200,000 in damages stemming from a November 2016 incident in which a student attempted to steal wine from the shop and a community uproar followed….

According to the college’s version of events as described in the Dec. 6 motion, three students, who are black, went to Gibson’s Bakery and one of the students, Jonathan Aladin, attempted to purchase wine with a fake ID. Allyn Gibson, who is white, followed the students out of the store and across the street into Tappan Square, property owned by the college, and “violently assaulted the male student,” the motion states. The motion says that the two female students… intervened on behalf of Aladin when Gibson refused to stop the assault.['b] 

“When police arrived on the scene, they arrested only the three Oberlin College students despite witness statements that Allyn D. Gibson was the aggressor,” the motion states.

[Fishrrman]

VP Varner:
"Our team will review the jury’s verdict and determine how to move forward."

You "move forward" by paying the judgment...

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The public posturing by some at the College regarding the verdict may not be shared by the Board of Governors or others who actually have control of the purse strings.  The GC and Dean Raimondo may be willing to fight to the end with an appeal to validate themselves, but I'm not sure the people who really are in charge will agree.

That being said, you may be right.  The College may make a decision that the legal issue is of sufficient importance to test it on appeal.  But there are some pretty bad facts that hurt what might otherwise be a pretty good legal case.

There may be more entrenchment by the college for its cause than some might realize.

Researching Oberlin, it appears its biggest pride is its self-stated role it played in the abolition of slavery and, since then, the role of social justice warrior.

It may well be that the social warrior aspects drive the college leadership more than it should, which might just be into the toilet.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/oberlin-college-1833/

And just who is on the board of Trustees for the College?

As an example, its chairman is T. Chris Canavan, Director, Global Policy Development Soros Fund Management, LLC

Need I say more?

https://www.oberlin.edu/general-counsel-and-secretary/trustees

[Bigun]

There may be more entrenchment by the college for its cause than some might realize.

Researching Oberlin, it appears its biggest pride is its self-stated role it played in the abolition of slavery and, since then, the role of social justice warrior.

It may well be that the social warrior aspects drive the college leadership more than it should, which might just be into the toilet.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/oberlin-college-1833/

And just who is on the board of Trustees for the College?

As an example, its chairman is T. Chris Canavan, Director, Global Policy Development Soros Fund Management, LLC

Need I say more?

https://www.oberlin.edu/general-counsel-and-secretary/trustees

Very interesting information that frankly doesn't surprise me at all.  Glad you dug it up @IsailedawayfromFR

[Wingnut]

Oberlin Police body cam video (Gibson's Bakery)

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

[Maj. Bill Martin]

VP Varner:
"Our team will review the jury’s verdict and determine how to move forward."

You "move forward" by paying the judgment...

That's the one thing they absolutely won't do.

They'll either try to settle it after punitive damages are awarded, or they'll appeal.  Nobody just pays the judgments like that without exhausting appeals.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

There may be more entrenchment by the college for its cause than some might realize.

Researching Oberlin, it appears its biggest pride is its self-stated role it played in the abolition of slavery and, since then, the role of social justice warrior.

It may well be that the social warrior aspects drive the college leadership more than it should, which might just be into the toilet.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/oberlin-college-1833/

And just who is on the board of Trustees for the College?

As an example, its chairman is T. Chris Canavan, Director, Global Policy Development Soros Fund Management, LLC

Need I say more?

https://www.oberlin.edu/general-counsel-and-secretary/trustees

All of that absolutely played a role in how Oberlin reacted to the initial arrests, how it viewed the protests, and its take-no-prisoners litigation strategy.  That dynamic has shifted somewhat.  The school is worried about negative publicity and the potential effects on enrollment, so there will be a push to "put this all behind them".

[Cyber Liberty]

That's the one thing they absolutely won't do.

They'll either try to settle it after punitive damages are awarded, or they'll appeal.  Nobody just pays the judgments like that without exhausting appeals.

Yeah, it'll be a long time before any checks get cut, and the amount will probably not be disclosed if it's less than the final Judgement.

[truth_seeker]

The student is an  oppressed minority, and he was merely redistributing the wine, which the rich white, selfish  store owners had unjustly kept all for themselves.
Free Wine for the people.

[Wingnut]

The student is an  oppressed minority, and he was merely redistributing the wine, which the rich white, selfish  store owners had unjustly kept all for themselves.
Free Wine for the people.

In the video I thought the owner said he tried to abscond wit 2 bottles of Manischewitz.  Now that ain't kosher.  everyone know the brother be like'n the Ripple.

[Cyber Liberty]

In the video I thought the owner said he tried to abscond wit 2 bottles of Manischewitz.  Now that ain't kosher.  everyone know the brother be like'n the Ripple.

Or Thunderbird.  Two items probably not stocked at Gibsons.  BTW, that store in the video is a lot larger than I thought it would be.  It's a good sized convenience mart that goes wayyy back from the storefront.

[Hoodat]

And then there's Liquid Crack

[sneakypete]

In the video I thought the owner said he tried to abscond wit 2 bottles of Manischewitz.  Now that ain't kosher.  everyone know the brother be like'n the Ripple.

@The Ghost

Maybe he was trying to impress de white bitches wid how spisticated n'shit dat he be?

[roamer_1]

Well ain't that just a damn shame.

Yeah... Funny that I thought exactly that, verbatim.