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Oberlin College – Gibson’s Bakery Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 15, 2020 30 Comments
The appeal brief of Gibson's Bakery opposing the appeal of Oberlin College and Meredith Raimondo is due on August 5, after Gibson's motion for a final extension of time was granted by the appeals court Magistrate. Gibson's previously filed its Cross-Appeal Brief, seeking reinstatement of the full punitive damages verdict. While the regular briefing has been pending, a group of media and other groups asked permission to file so-called Amicus (friend of the Court) briefs in support of the college's appeal.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 30, 2020 22 Comments
Oberlin College has filed its Brief appealing the $11 million compensatory and $33 million punitive damage verdicts (later reduced to $25 million under Ohio tort reform caps) won by Gibson's Bakery. The Bakery also has filed its Cross-Appeal Brief seeking reinstatement of the full punitive damages verdict.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 08, 2020 49 Comments
Last Friday, Oberlin College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo filed their Appeal Brief, seeking to overturn the trial verdict. The NAACP also filed a ridiculous Amicus Brief supporting the college. According to the docket, at least one more Amicus Brief will be filed for a coalition of 'anti-censorship' groups. Today, Gibson's Bakery filed its Cross-Appeal Brief (pdf.)(full embed at bottom of post). Wait, what is a cross-appeal?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 05, 2020 58 Comments
Oberlin College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo have filed their Appeal Brief (pdf.) in the Gibson's Bakery case. The NAACP also has filed an Amicus Brief (pdf.) in support of the college. Full copies of both briefs are at the bottom of this post. The Oberlin College Brief is redacted because some information was filed under seal (the information at issue in the various motions to unseal we previously covered). It's not clear whether any Amicus Briefs will be filed supporting the Gibsons, to my knowledge no one is coming to their assistance.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 06, 2020 44 Comments
After a monumental compensatory and punitive damages jury verdict in favor of Gibson's Bakery and its owners against Oberlin College and its Dean of Students, the college launched a public relations campaign claiming, among other things, that the Gibsons really were racist even though the jury found the accusation of racial profiling false and defamatory. For those of you new to this issue, see the following posts regarding the post-trial public relations campaign:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 29, 2020 36 Comments
Oberlin College has been in the throes of turmoil for a decade. Aggressive, and sometimes absurd, social justice warfare hit the school's image and enrollment long before the Gibson's Bakery lawsuit and massive verdict. The latest controversy surrounds cost-cutting in an attempt to narrow a multi-million dollar 'structural deficit'. While there have been some cutbacks at administrative and faculty levels, the college now is attempting to jettison it's unionized custodial and dining hall workers.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 15, 2020 34 Comments
All has been quiet lately on the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College front. The case is on appeal, with a short remand to the trial court to memorialize certain oral trial rulings so that the record is complete for appeal. As we documented previously, there is ancillary litigation in the trial court by certain Cleveland media interests seeking to unseal confidential Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson, the bakery clerk who stopped the Oberlin College student from shoplifting. That turned into a scuffle, arrests of three students, and the protests, boycotts, lawsuit, and jury trial.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 13, 2020 14 Comments
There hasn't been much news lately in the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case. We are waiting on the judge's ruling as to a motion by Cleveland media entities to unseal the confidential Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson, the grandson of Allyn W. Gibson and the son of the late David Gibson. Allyn D. was the store clerk who stopped a black Oberlin College student for shoplifting, and the rest is history.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 10, 2019 17 Comments
On November 8, 2019, I reported that  WEWS-TV (News 5 Cleveland), Advance Ohio (Cleveland.com), and the Ohio Coalition for Open Government Access (created by the Ohio News Media Foundation)(collectively, the "Media Movants") filed a motion to unseal the Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2019 21 Comments
On November 8, 2019, I noted a strange twist in the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case. Several months after the verdicts, and a month after the court denied a nearly identical motion by Oberlin College, two Cleveland media outlets plus an Ohio media non-profit group sought to unseal the Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson.

Posted by J.D.Nobody on December 01, 2019 22 Comments
I am known to people who read Legal Insurrection as JD Nobody. The reason for my name is that by being Nobody anyone can hide behind saying Nobody told me. I am not a lawyer but have often hung out with lawyers and have enjoyed "thinking outside the box" with them. My connection to Oberlin College is as a third-generation alumnus from the class of 1961.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 16, 2019 88 Comments
David Gibson, one of the owners of Gibson's Bakery and a named plaintiff in the lawsuit against Oberlin College, has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He passed away early this morning at home surrounded by his family. After the verdict, David said that he hoped that the bakery could keep the lights on for another generation.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 08, 2019 67 Comments
Do you believe in coincidences? This may just be a huge coincidence, but it certainly is another very curious twist in the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case. You may recall that in late August 2019, two months after the trial which ended disastrously for Oberlin College, the college unsuccessfully sought to unseal the confidential Facebook records of Allyn D. Gibson. The issue is back again before the trial court with Cleveland media groups seeking a redo of Oberlin College's failed motion, under the guise of freedom of the press.  But why?
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