Confidential Facebook Records of Gibson’s Bakery Clerk Unsealed By Trial Court On Oberlin College-aligned Media Request

WILLIAM A. JACOBSON SEP 30, 2021 12:00 PM

In a strange ending to a long series of motions and appeals, trial court Judge John R. Miraldi has unsealed confidential Facebook records of Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Allyn D. Gibson, who was not a party or witness in the underlying trial that resulted in massive verdicts for the family bakery.

Allyn D.’s stop of a black Oberlin College student for shoplifting set off protests, boycotts, and allegations of racial profiling that led to the court case and trial. We still await the Ohio 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which (1) Oberlin College is challenging the compensatory and punitive damage awards totalling, after reduction under Ohio tort reform law, $25 million, plus over $6 million in attorney’s fees, bringing the judgment to over $32 million, and (2) the cross-appeal by Gibson’s Bakery and two members of the Gibson family (including the widow of the late David Gibson) seeking to restore the full $33 million punitive damages award.

We detailed this very strange saga in our most recent post, Exclusive: Trial Judge Agrees To Release Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Confidential Facebook Records. Please read that post for the background and how the local media came to Oberlin College’s assistance on the records.

As detailed in that post, despite questions as to whether Judge Miraldi had jurisdiction while the matter was pending in the Ohio Supreme Court, Judge Miraldi apparently, based on statements from his attorney, decided to unseal the records in exchange for the Writ of Mandamus filed against him being dropped.

On September 28, Judge Miraldi entered an order unsealing the record:

 

Today WEWS-TV filed to dismiss the action in the Ohio Supreme Court.

Pursuant to S.Ct.Prac.R. 4.05, Relator hereby applies for dismissal of this matter with prejudice. The basis for this application is that the court record at issue in this action has now been unsealed.

The records having been unsealed, I assume we will hear the details in news reports or future court filings by Oberlin College, if there is anything prejudicial in the records. The relentlessness with which the records were sought is curious at best.

This is all too strange. Judge Miraldi twice denied applications, first by the college then by the media, to unseal the records. The Writ in the Supreme Court was being opposed by Allyn D. on a motion to intervene. Why not just let it play out and allow the Ohio Supreme Court to rule?

I also wonder if the college will use this release in the pending appeal on the verdicts. That would be a tough sell because the records never even were offered at trial, but it could cause more delay

We will update this as more becomes known.

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Our prior coverage of the Facebook issue:

• Cleveland Media Seek Access To Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk’s Sealed Facebook Records in Oberlin College Case, But Why?
• Gibson’s Bakery alleges Cleveland media collaborating with Oberlin College to unseal store clerk’s Facebook records
• Cleveland media fail to deny allegations of collusion with Oberlin College to unseal Gibson’s Bakery store clerk’s Facebook records
• To Dox The Store Clerk or Not, That Remains The Question In Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College
• We interrupt this pandemic to update you on Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College case
• Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College – Court rejects attempt to unseal store clerk’s private Facebook records
• Cleveland Media appeal denial of access to Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Facebook records
• Update on Cleveland Media attempt to gain access to Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Facebook records
• Media Aligned With Oberlin College Take Quest To Unseal Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk’s Facebook Records To Ohio Supreme Court
• Oberlin College-aligned Media Effort To Unseal Gibson’s Bakery Clerk Facebook Records Goes To Briefing In Ohio Supreme Court
• Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Intervenes Against Attempt By Oberlin College-aligned Media to Unseal His Facebook Records
• Exclusive: Trial Judge Agrees To Release Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Confidential Facebook Records.

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