Oberlin College to appeal Gibson's verdict

Attorneys for Oberlin College filed notice in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday that they are appealing the verdict handed down by a Lorain County jury earlier this year in a defamation case brought by Gibson's Bakery and the Gibson family. Oberlin College's board of trustees voted to appeal the multimillion jury verdict, which currently stands at $31.5 million in favor of the Gibsons. The appeal will be heard by the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Akron. In an official statement, the college cited its obligation to protect the First Amendment right to free speech and what it said were serious errors made by the jury and at trial. Judge John Miraldi, who presided over the six-week trial, previously ruled against Oberlin College's motions for summary judgment and a new trial. The college said that to pay the Gibsons damages for libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and interference with business relationships would damage free speech on college campuses. "Left standing, the verdict could also set a troubling precedent for those institutions, like Oberlin, that are committed to respecting free speech," the statement from the college read. Chris Canavan, chairman of the Oberlin College board of trustees, was quoted in the release saying the decision to appeal is "grounded in the board's fiduciary responsibility to the College's long-term financial health." "We also have a mission to support free inquiry, allow faculty and students to ask difficult questions and to reach and express their own conclusions," he said. "The judgment in this case effectively punishes us for doing just that." Oberlin College spokesman Scott Wargo said the college had no further comment on Tuesday's developments. Attorneys for the Gibsons previously called Oberlin College's framing of the issue as a First Amendment case "incredibly concerning." Lee Plakas, one of the lead attorneys for the Gibsons, said Tuesday that Oberlin College's decision to appeal was not surprising, "given the repeated attempts by Oberlin College to discount the jury's verdict." "But despite the college's attempt to reframe this as a First Amendment issue, the law and the facts of this case remain clearly on the side of the Gibson family," Plakas said. "The law and the jury's verdict both remind our country that claimed free speech has its limits, even on a college campus." The college's decision to focus on students' First Amendment rights also ignores two-thirds of the Gibsons' case against the college, as issues of intentional infliction of emotional distress and interference with business relationships also were factors in the jury's decision, he said. "The jury's verdict sent a clear message that institutions like Oberlin College should not be permitted to bully others while hiding behind the claimed shield of free speech," Plakas said. "There are no exemptions from the law of defamation — a fact we trust will be confirmed during the appeal process." The college announced it has hired attorneys Lee Levine and Seth Berlin from the law firm Ballard Spahr in Washington, D.C., and appellate attorneys Benjamin Sassé and Irene Keyse-Walker from the law firm Tucker Ellis in Cleveland to handle its appeal. "The verdict and judgment in this case set a precedent that endangers free speech on campuses and for all Americans," Levine said in the statement released by the college. "The jury was allowed to award substantial damages for speech that is protected by the Constitution. The case should absolutely be reviewed by an appellate court." "This case never should have gone to the jury in light of the heightened speech protections in the Ohio Constitution, and the trial court made several procedural errors during trial that led to this verdict. Among other things, those errors prevented jurors from hearing critical information about the original incident," Sassé said, also in the statement released by the college. Oberlin College students protested for two days in November 2016 after three students were arrested by Oberlin police following an incident at Gibson's Bakery. One of the students tried to use a fake ID to buy alcohol and also tried to steal two bottles of wine before being chased out of the store by clerk Allyn Gibson, the son and grandson of the bakery owners. Outside, Allyn Gibson, the shoplifter and two other students got into an altercation. When police arrived, according to testimony at trial, Allyn Gibson was on the ground being assaulted by the three students. Oberlin College has said there remains some dispute over what truly occurred, citing eyewitness reports. Allyn Gibson is white and the students black. Within two days of the incident, students organized a protest against the bakery, printing fliers that called the Gibsons and the bakery racist. They created a flier saying "DON'T BUY. This is a RACIST establishment with a LONG ACCOUNT of RACIAL PROFILING and DISCRIMINATION." Oberlin College officials were at the protest, with the college saying they were present to "ensure that it was peaceful" and to "de-escalate tensions in the community." Testimony at trial indicated that Meredith Raimondo, the college's vice president and dean of students, was speaking to protesters through a bullhorn and distributed the flier to a member of the media who showed up at the scene. At the same time, Oberlin College briefly ended its business relationship and daily baked goods order from Gibsons. That relationship briefly resumed in early 2017, but ended again when the family and bakery sued the college in Lorain County Common Pleas Court later that same year. Attorneys for the Gibsons argued at trial that college officials allowed protesters to use college equipment to produce the fliers, purchased gloves and food for them and allowed a defamatory Student Senate resolution to remain posted in public for more than a year. A Lorain County jury sided with the Gibsons, awarding them $44 million in damages. Citing Ohio law capping civil damages, Miraldi reduced the award to $25 million and later awarded an additional $6.5 million in attorney fees to the Gibsons. All three students involved in the initial incident eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges including theft and assault. They also read statements in court that recognized Allyn Gibson's right to try and stop the theft. Plakas said it would have harmed the bakery, which had a 100-year-long business relationship with the college, had the Gibsons given all first-time student shoplifters a free pass. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.