Gibsons file notice of appeal in case against Oberlin College

Less than two weeks after their counterparts announced plans to appeal the verdict, attorneys for Gibson's Bakery and the Gibson family have filed their own notice of appeal in their multi-million dollar lawsuit against Oberlin College. Both sides are now seeking to overturn rulings made during and after the six-week trial that capture national attention as it played out in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. The jury's original $44 million award to the Gibsons was the largest in a libel suit in Ohio history, though it was later reduced by Judge John Miraldi due to statutory limitations in Ohio law. It is expected that the statutory damage caps will be a main focus of the appeal argument by Gibsons' attorneys. The appeals will be heard by the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Akron. Gibsons and their attorneys are asking be reviewed include statutory caps on compensatory and punitive monetary damages under Ohio law as well as several rulings by Miraldi. Lee Plakas, lead attorney for the Gibsons, said this summer that he believes damage caps for defamation by libel or slander are unconstitutional and that his team would fight them on appeal. He said in June that Miraldi "recognized it's the job of the appellate judges to declare the statute in this case unconstitutional," and that his team of attorneys was "interested and positive in the prospects of having this statute declared unconstitutional." The plaintiffs, who won the largest libel verdict in Ohio history following a six-week trial that ended in June, also are seeking to overturn rulings on motions for summary judgment from Miraldi issued April 22 and the exclusion of testimony from expert witnesses they intended to introduce at trial. Attorneys for the Gibsons intended to introduce witnesses who would testify that it would take $13 million to restore the brand and reputation of the bakery following the year-and-a-half of legal wrangling that preceded the trial. However, Miraldi wrote that accountant Richard Maggiore's estimate was "inherently unreliable" and "more akin to an advertising or marketing proposal" before rejecting its evidentiary value in a ruling in May. Oberlin College announced its own plans to appeal the verdict and related issues in a statement released Oct. 8. The college owes Gibson's Bakery and Gibson family members David Gibson and Allyn "Grandpa" Gibson a total of $31.5 million in judgments and attorney fees, plus additional interest. Oberlin College has posted a bond worth more than $36 million, representing the judgments plus interest, to cover it during the appeals process. Oberlin College has cited its obligation to protect the First Amendment right to free speech as one of the reasons it continues to fight the case. 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. Miraldi previously ruled against Oberlin College's requests for summary judgment in its favor as well as for a new trial. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.