Yuge: Ohio Family Bakery Stopped Shoplifter, Protesters Called Them Racist, Jury Awards Them $11M

And this was a jury verdict; could Americans be sick to death of the nonsense as well?

Doesn't bode well for Identity Politics Dimocrats.
 
JimBowie1958 said:
Zorro! said:
Apparently their insurance policy doesn't cover this:

EXCLUSIVE: Oberlin College insurer likely to reject coverage for Gibson Bakery $11 million verdict, and also for the potential additional $22 million in punitive damages, if those are awarded in a separate hearing.

This could potentially put Oberlin, already financially imperiled, out of business.
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Wow, more 'Go Woke, Go Broke'.

:eusa_eh:
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Check out how it started:

Legal Insurrection

Gibsons-bakery.jpg


On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at approximately 4:58pm, officers responded to the area of Gibson’s Bakery in reference to a report of a fight in progress. As officers were responding to the area, dispatch advised that this was involving an alleged theft complaint. Allyn Gibson, who is an employee of Gibson’s Bakery, was attempting to apprehend a subject who Allyn had attempted to steal several items. Sgt. Ortiz, and Officer Feuerstein both stated they observed Allyn Gibson lying on his back with several individuals kneeling over him punching and kicking him with several other individuals in the immediate area. Officers attempted to gain control of the situation and were met several times with resistance from several different individuals. After a few minutes officers were finally able to take one female into custody and calm the incident and attempt to figure out what had taken place.

The reporting officer spoke with Allyn Gibson, his father David Gibson, and another employee of the store, Brent Gingery. Allyn stated that a black male, Jonathan Aladin, attempted to conceal two bottles of wine under his shirt. Allyn advised Aladin that he knew he had the concealed items and told Aladin not to leave because he was contacting the police. Aladin attempted to leave the store so Allyn took out his phone and attempted to take a picture of Aladin. Aladin slapped Allyn’s hand and phone and caused it to strike Allyn in the face. Aladin began to run to the back of the store throwing the two bottles of wine on the floor. Allyn attempted to detain Aladin, but Aladin became violent and began grabbing and hitting Allyn. Allyn yelled for his father who was in the back room of the store and for someone to call the police. After a few seconds his father David came out and attempted to keep Aladin from hitting Allyn. At some point Aladin was able to get away from Allyn and leave the store and make it across the street from the store with the two females that were with Aladin in the store.

Allyn stated once they were across the street from the store, he again attempted to detain Aladin but again Aladin became violent knocking Allyn to the ground and began punching Allyn again. Once he was on the ground the two females also began punching and kicking Allyn in the head, face and body. Aladin stated, “I’m going to kill you.” The next thing he knew officers were on scene and pulling the individuals off of him. Allyn had several abrasions and minor injuries including what appeared to be a swollen lip, abrasions to his arms and wrists and a small cut on his neck.​

Jonathan Aladin was arrested for robbery and the two girls who were with him were arrested for assault for hitting Allyn outside the store.

Because Jonathan and one of the girls arrested are black, a group of woke Oberlin students rallied and began protesting the bakery with chants and signs that read “Black Lives Matter.” Here’s a bit of what what looked like just a few days after the incident:



Among the crowd was Oberlin College dean of students Meredith Raimondo who was handing out literature calling Gibson’s bakery a “racist establishment.” The protests continued and about a week later, Oberlin College stopped buying donuts and bagels from Gibson’s in reaction to a student-led boycott of the bakery.

In August of 2017, the three students involved in the incident pleaded guilty to misdemeanors of attempted theft and aggravated trespassing. None of them served any time but they did make an admission:

Aladin, Lawrence and Whettstone each made statements acknowledging that Gibson was within his right to detain Aladin and that his actions were not racially motivated, admitting that they were merely trying to prevent an underage alcohol transaction.​

Three months later, Gibson’s sued Oberlin College for trying to hurt their business with false accusations that it was racist. Police investigated and found that of the 40 cases of shoplifting at the bakery in the previous five years, the person responsible was black in just six of those cases. The complaint filed by Gibson’s also claimed the school had asked them to call the school rather than police when a student was caught shoplifting. Gibson’s refused to agree to what it deemed a “first-time shoplifter’s pass” for students.

In response, the school denied the allegations and cut off all remaining business with the baker. Finally, after attempts by the school to have the case dismissed for summary judgment, a judge ruled in April that the core of the case would go to trial. There was some clear evidence that Oberlin professors and administrators were involved in trying to smear the bakery and anyone who stood up for them:

A message sent by associate professor of music theory Jan Miyake said, “So heres one rhing (sic) on my mind about gibsons. They own so much prime property in oberlin that boycotting doesnt hurt them that much. The smear on their brand does, and that’s been taken care of.”…

The document also included some testimony given by Miyake during a deposition for the case. Miyake was asked what she meant by “the smear on their brand does.”…

When asked how Gibson’s brand was smeared, Miyake said, “They protested outside the store for three days chanting, ‘Racists.’”…

In other internal communications included in the filing, [dean of students Meredith] Raimondo allegedly “threatened to weaponize the student body” against a professor after he spoke out against the defamation and boycott of Gibsons, court documents said.

According to court documents, Vice President for Communications Ben Jones sent a text message saying, “(Expletive) ROGER COPELAND.”

“(Expletive) him,” Raimondo responded in a message. “I’d say unleash the students if I wasn’t convinced this needs to be put behind us.”​

Legal Insurrection had someone at the trial every day and has reactions to the verdict:

The jury awarded $11 million. Allyn W. Gibson was awarded $3 million, David Gibson $5.8 million, Gibson Bros. $2,274,500. Next Tuesday there will be a separate punitive damages hearing which could be a double award (meaning tripling the $11 million to $33 million)…

When the verdict was read by the judge, four generations of the Gibson family — from 11-year-old Cashlyn to 90-year old Allyn W. “Grandpa” Gibson — hugged each other behind their plaintiff’s courtroom table. They are a hardy bunch, and did not cry or show too much emotion — no wailing or crying by this family — but as one who has watched them for over a month now, you could see a burden had been lifted from their shoulders…

Lee Plakas, who handled much of the month-long trial and who gave the closing argument, said this case “is a national tipping point.”

“What the jury saw is that teaching students and having them learn how to be upstanding members of the community is what colleges are supposed to do, not appease some students who they are afraid of,” Plakas said. “People around the country should learn from this, that you can use the legal system to right the wrongs, even if the one doing the wrong is some huge institution who thinks they can do anything they want.”​

The false claims made by the student protesters and their accomplices at Oberlin were seen as an embarrassment to people of color living in town. An employee in the school’s Communications Department sent this email to her boss which made the rounds among administrators:

“I have talked to 15 townie friends who are poc and they are disgusted and embarrassed by the protest. In their view, the kid was breaking the law, period (even if he wasn’t shoplifting, he was underage). To them this is not a race issue at all and they do not believe the Gibsons are racist. They believe the students have picked the wrong target.”​

This was never a racial issue. This was always about a fringe of woke activists vs. people of all races with basic common sense. It’s a relief that common sense won this battle in a significant way.

Oberlin has been given a taste of the harm that can result when they whip up a lynch mob.
 
JimBowie1958 said:
These guys aided and assisted their students in smearing a local business as racist when all they did was arrest a black student who was shoplifting.

Will such lawsuits finally slow the growing fascism of the American Left?

Oberlin College to pay bakery $11M after furthering racism accusations: Jury

Oberlin College in Ohio will have to pay a nearby bakery more than $11 million in damages because it libeled the store, tagging it as racist, and interfered with its business, a jury said on Friday.

Gibson's Bakery came under fire after Allyn Gibson, the owners' son, got into a physical altercation with a black student who reportedly tried shoplifting and using a fake ID at the store, The Chronicle-Telegram said. Two other black students got involved, appearing to prompt accusations of racial profiling.


The three students eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and read statements defending Allyn Gibson's right to detain them. They also read statements claiming that his actions weren't racially motivated, but within days of the incident, students were turning out for protests fueled by accusations of racist intent.

The jury found the school and Oberlin's vice president and dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, guilty of libel after Raimondo allegedly helped pass out flyers claiming that the bakery was "racist" and had a history of "racial profiling and discrimination."

The jury also found that the college (not Raimondo) was guilty of intentional infliction of emotional distress for the owner, David Gibson, as well as libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress on his son.

Donica Thomas Varner, the college's general counsel, said he was disappointed with the verdict and denied the college had defamed the bakery or its owners.

“Neither Oberlin College nor Dean Meredith Raimondo defamed a local business or its owners, and they never endorsed statements made by others," Varner reportedly said.

"Rather, the college and Dr. Raimondo worked to ensure that students’ freedom of speech was protected and that the student demonstrations were safe and lawful, and they attempted to help the plaintiffs repair any harm caused by the student protests.”

According to one of the bakery's attorneys, the verdict sends a clear message to other educational institutions.

“I think part of what we did here today is answer the question as to, ‘What are we going to tolerate in our society?’" attorney Owen Rarric said. “We’re hopeful that this is a sign that not only Oberlin College, but in the future, powerful institutions, will hesitate before trying to crush the little guy.”​
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And apparently they don't carry insurance that covers incitement.

Oh-oh! Oberlin College’s insurance company says their policy doesn’t cover the huge verdict against it

Oberlin has a mess on its hands and its trustees must begin planning for possible need to cough up many millions of dollars

The administrators royally screwed the Golden Goose by advancing political correctness, engaging in incitement and doing grave institutional damage well beyond the pending financial contingency.
 
harmonica said:
.....same old crap by the leftists/blacks/MSM= CRIMINAL commits crime and it's WHITEY/cop who is the bad guy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! = IDIOCY
I can see why Africa and US ghettos are shitholes
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The American Ghetto is such a Shithole because of the "Great Society" and what that liberal scheme did to the African American family.

Next Sunday in America its Father's Day, and its really causes severe traffic problems in the ghetto with teeming masses of baby's daddies looking to visit all of their children. If the average African American woman has 4 children with 4 different daddies, the clear complexity of the day is obvious. I'd recommend that every American get familiar with the Maury Povich program to see what its all about.

I saw one case where a black girl had 14 different men DNA tested to find the baby's daddy. My mum saw it on TV and was really scandalized as they wouldn't have done this back in her day.
 
JimBowie1958 said:
These guys aided and assisted their students in smearing a local business as racist when all they did was arrest a black student who was shoplifting.

Will such lawsuits finally slow the growing fascism of the American Left?

Oberlin College to pay bakery $11M after furthering racism accusations: Jury

Oberlin College in Ohio will have to pay a nearby bakery more than $11 million in damages because it libeled the store, tagging it as racist, and interfered with its business, a jury said on Friday.

Gibson's Bakery came under fire after Allyn Gibson, the owners' son, got into a physical altercation with a black student who reportedly tried shoplifting and using a fake ID at the store, The Chronicle-Telegram said. Two other black students got involved, appearing to prompt accusations of racial profiling.

The three students eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and read statements defending Allyn Gibson's right to detain them. They also read statements claiming that his actions weren't racially motivated, but within days of the incident, students were turning out for protests fueled by accusations of racist intent.

The jury found the school and Oberlin's vice president and dean of students, Meredith Raimondo, guilty of libel after Raimondo allegedly helped pass out flyers claiming that the bakery was "racist" and had a history of "racial profiling and discrimination."

The jury also found that the college (not Raimondo) was guilty of intentional infliction of emotional distress for the owner, David Gibson, as well as libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress on his son.

Donica Thomas Varner, the college's general counsel, said he was disappointed with the verdict and denied the college had defamed the bakery or its owners.

“Neither Oberlin College nor Dean Meredith Raimondo defamed a local business or its owners, and they never endorsed statements made by others," Varner reportedly said.

"Rather, the college and Dr. Raimondo worked to ensure that students’ freedom of speech was protected and that the student demonstrations were safe and lawful, and they attempted to help the plaintiffs repair any harm caused by the student protests.”

According to one of the bakery's attorneys, the verdict sends a clear message to other educational institutions.

“I think part of what we did here today is answer the question as to, ‘What are we going to tolerate in our society?’" attorney Owen Rarric said. “We’re hopeful that this is a sign that not only Oberlin College, but in the future, powerful institutions, will hesitate before trying to crush the little guy.”​
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Smug, self-righteous academics who look down their haughty noses at the 'townies" that make up the jury.

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Oberlin College mass email criticizing Jurors could influence Punitive Damages Hearing in Gibson’s Bakery case.

Gibson-Family-reacts-to-Oberlin-College-Verdict-with-border-e1560003026238-620x435.png

5 generations of Gibsons have operated this store in Oberlin, 4 generations are pictured here. Far left is "grandpa" who the thugs threw to the ground and then surrounded, kicking him while he struggled to get up from the sidewalk as he tried to prevent these underage kids from running off with two bottles of wine that they are not legally allowed to possess. ​

From the start, many have questioned the aggressive and demeaning attacks by the smug self-righteous, haughty, entitled and much wealthier University toward the Gibsons. Completely tone-deafness, their defense was defense in belittling this family business. The jury agreed, rendering a combined $11.2 million compensatory damages verdict against Oberlin College and its Dean of Students, Meredith Raimondo.

The next stage is a punitive damages hearing, since the jury found the defendants acted with intent and malice. A separate punitive damages hearing is required under the Ohio Tort Reform legislation that passed several years ago. The point is to keep some of the more inflammatory evidence that does not go to liability or compensatory damages away from the jury during the initial deliberations. That additional evidence relevant to punitive damages could include information as to the wealth of the defendants, but also additional information supporting the need for punishment.

In this context, there is nothing more baffling than a statement sent to alumni after the verdict by Donica Thomas Varner, Oberlin College’s Vice President and General Counsel.

The statement was contained in a mass email sent to alumni (and possibly others) criticizing the jury verdict and repeating the same stale defenses that failed at trial:

Dear Members of the Oberlin Community:

I am writing to update you on the lawsuit that Gibson Bros., Inc. filed against Oberlin College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas in November 2017.

Following a trial that spanned almost a full month, the jury found for the plaintiffs earlier today.

We are disappointed with the verdict and regret that the jury did not agree with the clear evidence our team presented.

Neither Oberlin College nor Dean Meredith Raimondo defamed a local business or its owners, and they never endorsed statements made by others. Rather, the College and Dr. Raimondo worked to ensure that students’ freedom of speech was protected and that the student demonstrations were safe and lawful, and they attempted to help the plaintiffs repair any harm caused by the student protests.

As we have stated, colleges cannot be held liable for the independent actions of their students. Institutions of higher education are obligated to protect freedom of speech on their campuses and respect their students’ decision to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Oberlin College acted in accordance with these obligations.

While we are disappointed with the outcome, Oberlin College wishes to thank the members of the jury for their attention and dedication during this lengthy trial. They contributed a great deal of time and effort to this case, and we appreciate their commitment.

Our team will review the jury’s verdict and determine how to move forward.

Donica Thomas Varner
Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary​

Procedurally, the email is baffling because the trial is not over. The jury will hear more evidence and render a verdict on punitive damages that could add another $22 million to the $11 million compensatory. The objective of any communications at this sensitive stage must be to first do no harm. That’s how Scott Wargo, Oberlin’s spokesman, handled it when contacted by media after the verdict, indicating the college had no comment on the jury verdict. Wargo’s statement was the professional response one would expect in this circumstance, so why are others at the college not heeding that basic corporate communications strategy?

Substantively, the email is infuriating to anyone who has followed the case. Oberlin College and Raimondo were not “held liable for the independent actions of their students.” Rather, the defendants were held liable for their own conduct in aiding and abetting the publication of libelous documents, interference with business, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Let me repeat, it was the college’s and Raimondo’s own conduct that was at issue before the jury. That the General Counsel of Oberlin College doesn’t understand that — even if she disagrees with the jury conclusion — tells us something went very wrong with the way this case was handled internally at Oberlin College.

Best Practices Before Punitive Damage Phase is Completed:
Don’t accuse the jurors of disregarding the “clear evidence,” don’t repeat the same failed claim that the college administrators were simply keeping the peace and protecting free speech when numerous witnesses testified otherwise, and don’t claim the college was held liable vicariously when in fact the college’s own conduct was at issue.

The post-verdict email could be Exhibit A at the punitive damages hearing as to why the compensatory damages are not sufficient to send a message to Oberlin College and its administrators.
 
Same old crap in Oberlin.

My hometown is about 20 miles to the north and I have a brother sued $1 million when student-teaching in Oberlin public schools 40+ years ago. Black principal was relived of her duties and so she sued my brother and 3 others for a million bucks each. The 3 others had circulated a survey about her performance, my brother was included because one day the principal had gone through my brother's desk and found in his personal items a draft report of his student-teaching experience for the college he was attending. The report included a line about the experience convincing him of the expression: Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach. Those that can't teach, administrate. Eventually the judge tossed the lawsuit reasoning the principal's career hadn't been harmed because when they took away her principal position they had given her an even higher position in the Superintendent's Office.

Back to this case, I was interested in details and so went to Elyria Chronicle's website and found an article providing information on the shenanigans: Documents reveal attempts to 'smear the brand' of Gibson's
 
William A. Jacobson reported, "Oberlin College insurer likely to reject coverage for Gibson Bakery $11 million verdict."

"The likelihood of refusal to cover the verdict was revealed in a May 1, 2019, Motion to Intervene filed by Lexington Insurance Company."​

"The Lexington policy does not provide coverage for bodily injury or property damage intentionally caused by defendants."​

Maybe Oberlin can hold a bake sale to raise funds to pay its bill.
 
Let’s not forget this happy happy story of entitled little shithead social justice warriors getting it shoved up theirs asses.

These assholes who never accomplished anything in life tried to shit down a bakery that has been around for 5 generations,

This is who is going to lead the country if we let SJWs win over the government. We can’t let it happen.
 
badger2 said:
What is the current status in the robbery case? Two bottles of wine?
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Those guilty of the theft pled guilty and made statements that the store owner was no racially profiling, rather, attempting to prevent the illegal transfer of alcohol to minor university students.
 
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