In the spring of 2021, a coffee shop called Big City Coffee was basically bullied off campus by leftists who protested when it became known that the business was supportive of law enforcement. Students actually pressured school administrators to close the shop.
We covered the controversy at the time.
Now the owner of the shop has been awarded $4 million in a settlement.
Boise Dev reports:
Big City wins case against Boise State administrators, awarded millions in damagesA jury delivered a unanimous verdict late Friday evening siding with now-closed Big City Coffee owner Sarah Jo Fendley for her lawsuit alleging two top Boise State University administrators violated her First Amendment rights.After a nine-day jury trial, Fendley came out on top over Alicia Estey, Boise State’s chief financial and operating officer and vice president for finance and operations, and Boise State President Marlene Tromp’s former chief of staff and former Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Leslie Webb in her lawsuit alleging the pair removed Fendley and her business over her support of law enforcement in the fall of 2020.The jury awarded Fendley a total of $3 million in damages for business losses, mental and emotional distress, personal humiliation and lost reputation. The jury also ruled Webb, now a University of Montana administrator, was liable for another $1 million in punitive damages.The ruling is the latest in a case that first began in 2021 when Big City Coffee filed a $10 million tort claim against the university and several administrators. Fendley alleged that having to vacate her on-campus business following student upheaval in the wake of Minnesota resident George Floyd’s death violated the Idaho Consumer Protection Act and her constitutional rights. Students had questioned the coffee shop’s enthusiastic support of the Thin Blue Line and police officers at its downtown location and called for the closure of its Albertsons Library location.This decision came after nine days of witness testimony and evidence over the course of three weeks, with Estey, Webb, Associate Vice President for Campus Services Nicole Nimmons, BSU President Marlene Tromp, Fendley’s former fiancé and retired BPD Sergeant Kevin Holtry and others took the stand for questioning from both sides.
The Washington Examiner has more on this:
While most of the claims were dismissed, the lawsuit against Estey and Webb was given the go-ahead, ending in Fendley’s victory on Friday.“I’m thankful that the truth finally came out and grateful to the jury for their time and effort,” Fendley said after the ruling. “It’s been a long four years, and I’m just happy that it’s over.”Webb and Estey, meanwhile, said they would appeal the decision to Idaho’s Supreme Court.“We respectfully but strongly disagree with today’s verdict and plan to appeal,” they said. “We were honoring the First Amendment rights of all involved.”…The trial climaxed in a seven-hour appearance on the witness stand by Nicole Nimmons, the associate vice president for campus services and the primary point of contact between Fendley and BSU.
You can watch part of the court proceedings in this video:
Like the now famous Oberlin College vs. Gibson’s Bakery story, this business owner had her life upended and almost ruined by student activists.
And like Gibson’s, she won in the end.
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