Oberlin College Tag

As we were the first to report, Under financial stress, Oberlin College seeks to end unionized custodial and dining hall services:

Oberlin College has been under financial stress for a number of years, in part the result of problems filling incoming classes. for the tuition-dependent school. There have been cutbacks in many areas of the campus, including faculty.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On November 1, 2019, I gave a lecture for the James Wilson Institute, titled Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin: Identity Politics on Trial. The lecture was held at the Hillsdale College center in D.C. JWI delivered a special treat for attendees, Gibson's Bakery cookies!

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?

One of the most disturbing aspects of the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case has been the almost obsessive demonization of Gibson's Bakery and its owners by the college. It started not just during the protests and pre-litigation interactions that gave rise to the lawsuit, but in the Answer filed by the defendants in response to the lawsuit.

Two weeks ago, Oberlin College and its Dean of Students, Meredith Raimondo filed their appeal from the two jury verdicts in favor of Gibson's Bakery and its owners : $11 million compensatory damages rendered on June 7, 2019, and $33 million in punitive damages rendered on June 13, 2019, after a separate punitive damages trial.

Gibson's Bakery posted on Facebook today that David Gibson, one of the owners of the bakery and a plaintiff in the lawsuit that yielded almost $32 million in damages against Oberlin College, went to the hospital "in very serious condition." He announced on August 6 that he has pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the news does not look good.

Oberlin College just announced in an email blast that it not only is appealing the Gibson's Bakery verdict, it has hired 1st Amendment litigators at the D.C. Office of a large national law firm to lead the appeal.

There have been many strange motions and actions in the Gibson's Bakery v. Oberlin College case. A post-trial motion by Oberlin College to unseal Facebook records may be one of the more strange developments, and offers a window into the bitter feelings of college officials. Allyn D. Gibson (Allyn D.) is the grandson of plaintiff Allyn W. Gibson ("Allyn W.") and the son of plaintiff David Gibson. Allyn D., who was not a party in the lawsuit, was the store clerk on duty who caught an Oberlin College student shoplifting.