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Gibson’s Bakery Thanks Legal Insurrection And Its Readers

Gibson’s Bakery Thanks Legal Insurrection And Its Readers

“Legal Insurrection, Professor Jacobson, and your readers, gave the family the support and the courage that they needed …. Every night, our trial team would read Legal Insurrection….”

Last night we had an hour-plus conversation with Lorna Gibson, and trial attorneys Lee Plakas and Owen Rarric.

It was our best event so far. We will post the full event video in the next few days.

But I wanted Legal Insurrection readers and commenters to hear the praise Lee and Lorna gave us. They read the posts nightly and gained strength from the comments.

Here’s this short excerpt from the event.

Lee Plakas, lead trial counsel:

We’d like to thank Professor Jacobson. And we’d like to thank all of the readers because although you did not know it at the time,  and the time that this family was going through the challenge, Legal Insurrection, Professor Jacobson, and your readers gave the family the support and the courage that they needed to persevere in what literally was a David and Goliath battle. And you don’t know this, but every night, our trial team, before we would retire for the evening, and the evening wasn’t the evening, it was always two or three o’clock in the morning because as Professor Jacobson said, there was an onslaught of motions and efforts, and we had a billion dollar bully doing everything they possibly could to destroy this iconic bakery. So every night we actually would read Legal Insurrection because, and not because we had time on our hands, but because we knew that from the collective minds and observations of everybody, you were making comments. And we wanted to make sure that in this battle that we didn’t miss any nuance that one of your readers or Professor Jacobson may have identified. So we could incorporate it into our presentation. And because to be frank, we needed every advantage we could get ….

Lorna Gibson, wife of the late David Gibson:

… I do want to thank Legal Insurrection because you guys have been there from the start throughout this entire six years, and I really do appreciate all the coverage and just being there, it really helped for me to sit and look through all the comments and things every night. It gave me some hope. So thank you very much.

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Comments

OwenKellogg-Engineer | September 16, 2022 at 8:39 pm

If there was one storyline that I anticipated each and every time.i logg d.it, it was to see how the Gibson’s were faring in their ongoing saga. It encouraged me as a reader that the family has stood for right for generations.

And, the coverage by LI was par excellant. Thank you Professor ?and LI staff) for the efforts to keep this story in the forefront.

    Indeed. It was the main reason I started coming to this sight and I stayed with the Floyd and Rittenhouse breakdowns. The legal analysis was top notch and some of the comments were very insightful. Some of the points brought up were extremely nuanced and had me scratching my head and thinking.

    OwenKellogg-Engineer in reply to OwenKellogg-Engineer. | September 17, 2022 at 8:41 am

    Sorry for all the mis-typed characters.

    White privilege means you have to pay for your donuts.

      ecreegan in reply to dunce1239. | September 19, 2022 at 1:15 am

      White privilege means that no asshole tried to convince you that you have a right to steal.

      (I’m both sarcastic and serious. White male privilege is that nobody makes excuses for your failures, and therefore nobody encourages you to put effort blaming other people, and therefore your effort is more likely to go into not failing next time.)

    I hope that the Gibson family and town’s prople can be organized to displace disreputable elements of Oberlin college, eventually making it a non CRT organization. There was a time when the institution delivered a a good education. It would be nice to the endownment and school liberated from truely evil people. Maybe a good start could be billboards representing disrepuable Oberlin staff in an appropiate manner:)

What a masterful job you do Professor Jacobson

My hats off to the legal team that represented the family and the family itself.

Sadness that the entire family was not alive to celebrate, and how sad is that…

This trial represented to me all that is wrong in this Country, but also the need to confront it and never stop confronting, never back down, or we all are doomed

I never thought of the possibility the family or the lawyers would be reading here. I’m glad they found it encouraging.

Also glad the college is paying up!

Legal Insurrection’s articles were extremely informative. The comments were especially thoughtful and always well worth reading. This is the kind of news coverage the MSM stopped doing decades ago (and today, most MSM websites have gotten rid of their comment section). Thank you for the great work!

I’m still amazed that Oberlin has agreed to pay. I hope Oberlin learns from this experience, and starts holding her students to higher standards (and starts requiring them to obey the law).

I wish the Gibsons the best.

    jimincalif in reply to ObieWanKanObie. | September 16, 2022 at 9:20 pm

    I wouldn’t say Oberlin “has agreed to pay”. They are forced to pay, having exhausted virtually every legal avenue available to them to not pay. I imagine their insurers do not cover a contempt of court defense for ignoring the final verdict of the courts. And they still haven’t apologized to the Gibsons, right?

      ObieWanKanObie in reply to jimincalif. | September 16, 2022 at 9:54 pm

      Well, they’re making arrangements to pay. That’s good. Their payments include punitive damages, so that’s about as close to an apology as you can get. I’m sure there are some cooler heads in Oberlin’s administration who will learn from this and who will change Oberlin’s policies. At least I hope so.

      diver64 in reply to jimincalif. | September 17, 2022 at 6:26 am

      You make a good point. No-one should let the language be changed to “agreed”. They did not agree to anything and tried the lawfare route of attempting to bankrupt the other side and make them go away. Same tactic corporations and big government does on a daily basis. Same thing we are seeing play out right now with Trump and Musk for that matter. Unfortunately, big business in Twitter and The State with Trump are finding out what happens when you tie into someone with enough money and backbone to not play along

The intensity of my happiness for the family matches the repulsion I have for Oberlin. Trying to ruin good people the way they did is nothing short of evil.

And I think it well known that Legal Insurrection’s support and analysis bled over into many other legal blogs, such as Powerline, and topic discussion blogs such as The New Americanist, gaining a great deal of support in those forums. I saw more than a few casual postings sailing through the net, with links to here.

    diver64 in reply to puhiawa. | September 17, 2022 at 6:28 am

    Saw much in Powerline and other blogs. LI’s footprint in keeping this story alive was far larger than anyone thinks.

    pst314 in reply to puhiawa. | September 17, 2022 at 4:39 pm

    Hear, hear! In-depth blogging can make a difference. Remember Durham-in-Wonderland’s coverage of the Duke LaCrosse fake rape scandal?

It would be nice if Legal Insurrection would follow up on some of the mysteries of this case: who paid for the limo rides from Oberlin to Columbus for the shoplifters to meet with their attorney? Who paid for the attorney? Why did Oberlin try to keep the fake ID? What changes will Oberlin make to its policies as a result of the lawsuit? Why did Oberlin involve the Cleveland TV station? Who paid for that? Was overturning the limit on damages as unconstitutional really a possibility? There’s lots of stuff here to investigate.

    I have been following this since the first LI article, as Google brought me here when one of my local Ohio buddies sent me an email about “the stupid thing that Oberlin did today” (just one in a long series). I know how they think, or should I rather say, react to anything and everything that is seen as a threat. Liberals and lizards are very similar in that regard. I am not at all surprised how it played out. I am a big fan of “The Big Short” and to me this story is just as compelling, at times seeming to be an endless parade of actions that simply defied all conscious and rational thought. Even for liberals, the penchant to double down even when a different course of action was strongly indicated was sometimes surprising. I am a bit sad that it finally ended as I was certain they would crack the 9 digit barrier before it was over.

    It will be interesting to see how the alumni react. Oberlin no longer has the WuFlu excuse to keep them off campus and away from Gibsons at reunions. I am pretty certain that a whispy 19yo telling a 50 year alum that they can’t have a glazed whole wheat donut will not go over well, and the college no longer being able to hide behind the “we can’t discuss pending litigation” dodge is going to allow the sordid details to finally see the light of day for the majority of interested parties. They did what?

    I have been told that performing the same actions and expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity. Righting wrongs, real and/or imagined, is an addiction with them. I honestly don’t think that Oberlin has learned a thing from any of their social justice adventuring gone wild. Introspection is not their strong suit. Some new bogeyperson will appear and any lessons to be learned from the last 6 years will be instantly forgotten. Like Jeff from “Return of the Secaucus Seven,” the new, more extreme, cause will appear and it is off to the races, again.

      Mt. Fuji in reply to MajorWood. | September 17, 2022 at 6:59 pm

      Let this be an example of what the crazy left and the “Party of Chaos” will do to this country on a grand scale, as it is already in motion. They will stop at nothing to either cover their tracks, cover up wrong doing, or just destroy what they deem as not worthy all the while destroying their own ability to survive. Like I have asked before: “Why are people (individuals and groups) advocates of their own destruction”?

I’m thankful for people that take the time to thank Prof Jacobsen for the outstanding work he and the LI team do.

Everyone here that reads and comments is happy that good triumphed over evil. May it always be so.

I am happy that the Gibson family finally will get their due from the filth at Oberlin College. Oberlin’s refusal to apologize, their lack of self-awareness (a chronic outrage syndrome common among leftists), and their horrific behavior towards a family business that grew alongside of that ivory tower hellhole in the same community is beyond disgusting. Nonetheless, justice was served and the Gibson family can now move on from that stained, racist institution. Best of luck to them, and God Bless! Thank you, Professor Jacobson, for keeping all of us informed. May this be the start of a movement against the excesses of false racism charges and academic extortion.

While I’m ecstatic that the Gibsons got their justice, the real perpetrators who orchestrated this entire defamation haven’t really paid for their actions. The money paid by Oberlin didn’t come from those bad actors, but rather from student tuition and endowments. Leftists fight with other people’s money and never take real punishment. Unfortunately, it’s still the case here.

Oberlin may be putting up a brave front but $36 million isn’t chicken feed. You think their insurance premium is gonna rise a bit? Yet another school I’d tell the young ones to avoid.

I followed LI on this since the shoplifters made their fateful decision to steal the wine.

My current concern is will the Gibsons do the smart thing and close shop in the moral slum the neighborhood has degenerated to?

Or should they have a plan, with a hard limit on the $ investment, to boldly go forward and offer an outreach that might save some of each years’ crop.of “young skulls full of mush” and try to witness to them?

Or go full throttle and convert to a MAGA store with a video history section outlining the Injustice that Oberlin College perpetrated there. Make it an In Your Face Object Lesson like that Woolworth lunch counter. It happened right here. Battles of Old still are being fought Today – Truth and the Character of a (wo)man, not the Color of their Skin, is the Main thing that Matters.

I’’d give money to support those ideas as well.
G-d bless you Gibson family and your excellent councilors and attorneys. You persevered and ran the good race.

    The store is 137 years old. There is a multi-generational family history. Lorna Gibson promised Allyn before he died she would keep the family store/tradition alive.

    This isn’t about Donald Trump. This is about right and wrong and the owner’s stand on principle. Why should their store to convert to anything?

    Now that they have the money to do so they can use their parking properties and rental properties for profit again and not as a source of second mortgages. They have a legacy of baking. Why exactly should they run away from their town and their legacy?

      M Poppins in reply to kyrrat. | September 19, 2022 at 9:53 am

      answer: because the majority of their business was with the university, and that’s not coming back. The town isn’t large enough to sustain the bakery.

        JohnSmith100 in reply to M Poppins. | September 21, 2022 at 9:01 am

        That is why regime change needs to occur at the college. How can control be taken? I used to do this to corporations, target and get upper management canned.

We’re about to throw down on some doughnuts from Gibson’s. Just left the store and told them we’re glad they won and got paid. Thanks LI for covering this case.

I just want to add my voice to those praising LI. Your coverage of this story was detailed, honest and stalwart. LI performed a great service not only for the Gibsons but for the entire country.

Have the Gibson’s actually received the money 💰?

I have learned, the hard way, not to celebrate until the check has not only cleared the bank, but been transferred to a different bank in a different State.

And so it ends.

Consider taking it national; take a meeting with Jeremy Boring.

Gibson’s wasn’t on a team, but they were marked forevermore the minute they didn’t fold. Gibson’s is a symbol now. The institutions they defied won’t forget. How bad? Well, how big were Nick Sandman’s settlements? We know how they come for The Professor, and this site. That bad.

To continue Gibson’s will need size with customers and operations outside the cancel-horde’s reach and enough visibility to handle smears and interference like Joe Rogan. (BTW, see if he’s interested in doing an interview.)

The matter was covered in the NY Post today – https://nypost.com/2022/09/17/victory-in-lawsuit-against-oberlin-shows-the-wages-of-woke-zealotry/

Note their suspicion that Ambar was not being fully forthcoming on who paid the tab.

    Gosport in reply to jb4. | September 19, 2022 at 6:09 am

    Interesting point raised in that article:

    (By the way, the school’s president pretends that insurance will pay the bill, but few policies cover intentional wrongdoing like Oberlin’s.)

    Oberlin’s endowment fund may be getting a deeper tap than we thought.

    MajorWood in reply to jb4. | September 19, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    Putting on my Carnac the Magnificent hat. “We are deeply disappointed that the insurance company didn’t honor our claim.” Guess who says this, and how far in the future. You know it is coming. It is their nature.

    One of the locals in the mochahut in Portland who reads his WSJ every morning recogized my Gibsons hat. Oberlin isn’t doing as good of a job keeping all of this on the down low as they likely imagine that they are. It turns out that not everyone is as gullible as first year woke college students.

All this time I kept hoping that we, at LI, would hear directly from the Gibsons and the Gibsons’ attorneys. And now, after a great victory, you have been kind enough to share this moment with us. Thank you.

Thank you, Professor J and all of LI, too. Good work!

    I share the views stated herein. LI has performed a public service as well as one to its readers. It was wonderful to learn that the site was also a source of comfort and encouragement to the Gibson family. Ironically, it was even of assistance to me as a graduate of Oberlin College, as it helped to confirm a view that had been developing over the years, that Oberlin was no longer the classically “liberal” institution that I graduated from many decades ago.

    I suggest that we “pay it forward” with a donation that may help someone else with an issue as important to them as this has been to us – and buy some items from Gibson’s Bakery.

I feel a sense of pride that, by way of my small but ongoing financial support of LI, I may have helped the Gibson’s cause, if only indirectly. Money incredibly well-spent.

I agree with all of the above, but I won’t consider the matter fully closed until there is a housecleaning at Oberlin and the new Trustees and Administration make a formal apology to the Gibson’s and resume commercial relationships with the bakery. Of course, that story will be covered by the New York Post but will be ignored by the New York Times and The Washington Post.

What I worry about is that while Gibson’s has won an important legal and moral victory, it will nevertheless have a difficult time surviving. Oberlin is unlikely to renew its relationship with Gibson’s, and the majority of its students will probably continue their boycott. I don’t know whether the townspeople, many of whom are no doubt far-left wokesters who swallowed Oberlin’s narrative hook, line and sinker, will return to shop there, either. I would hate to see Oberlin lose the battle but win the war.

As the writer who broke this story by being in the courtroom for LI every day, The rest of the media ignored this case while it was on trial. I remember how obvious it was from the beginning what kind of case this was going to be. Read day 1 here: https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/05/gibsons-bakery-v-oberlin-college-trial-day-1-it-was-a-mob-mentality-out-there/

I’m sorry the Gibson family had to endure this.

Knowing it was going on along with a few other of life’s true struggles made it that much harder.

Much grace is deserved.

I do believe Gibson’s Bakery has given Prof. Jacobson and his readers the compliment of a lifetime. I am well pleased.

In my opinion, this is what the Internet is for. Along with the cat videos and cartoons, it carries thoughtful, helpful analysis and encouragement for those who must do consequential battle with institutions that have gone completely off the rails. Those battles are costly, difficult, consuming, and very, very long.

Oberlin could have saved its precious reputation and many millions of dollars by simply taking an adult, a properly courteous approach toward a local friend, ally, and contractor. Instead, it chose to make enemies, take a publicly immoral and repugnant course of action, run up its expenses, and deliberately draw out legal proceedings in hopes that somebody would die.

This spectacular failure of judgment and humanity is reminiscent of the McDonald’s Coffee Case, which is what it took to put an end to a string of over 400 3rd degree burns for its customers.

I don’t know what can be done to salvage Oberlin, at this point. I grieve for what I once thought was a fine, small, Liberal Arts college on par with my own. I hope to get confirmation that every penny of the judgment against it has been paid. Perhaps some of the alumni who helped fill those badly-applied deep pockets will assert some useful influence.

May the Gibson family, and bakery, and legal team thrive after this difficult period.

Gibsons and Prof. Jacobsen and the others at LI who zeroed in on the Oberlin debacle: You are the finest kind. You said what needed to be said, and there’s no higher praise I can offer. THANK YOU.

Suburban Farm Guy | September 20, 2022 at 9:44 pm

My deepest thanks, and admiration for the Gibson family, who have gone through so much yet never gave up. Many a lesser people would have just thrown in the towel. You are an inspiration for us all. Thank you and God bless.

Second, here’s to the relentless pursuit of truth and true justice, huge, from Professor Jacobson and all the other great patriots here at Legal Insurrection!