Ohio Supreme Court won't hear Gibson's Bakery, Oberlin College case

The Ohio Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals filed by both Oberlin College and Gibson's Bakery in their long-running legal dispute. Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor issued a brief statement saying the court was declining to hear arguments by both sides in their five-year legal battle. "Upon consideration of the jurisdictional memoranda filed in this case, the court declines to accept the jurisdiction of the appeal or cross-appeal," O'Connor wrote Tuesday. The decision was 4 to 3. O'Connor and justices Sharon Kennedy, Patrick Fischer, and Pat DeWine declined to hear the appeals, while justices Michael Donnelly, Melody Stewart and Jennifer Brunner dissented and would have heard them, according to court documents. Brunner also would have accepted a cross-appeal filed by the Gibsons for consideration by the court, according to court documents. "On behalf of the Gibson family and the trial team, truth still matters, David can still overcome Goliath," the Gibsons and their attorneys said in a statement sent to The Chronicle-Telegram on Tuesday. The Gibsons and their attorneys said they "are gratified that all judges on the court of appeals and the majority of the Ohio Supreme Court recognized the rights of individuals rather than the bullying tactics of the big institutions." The college released a statement through a spokesperson Tuesday: "Oberlin is disappointed that the Ohio Supreme Court has chosen not to hear our appeal of the Gibson's Bakery judgment against the college," the college said. "The issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved but for the entire Oberlin community." "We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. We will continue in that important work while remaining focused on our core educational mission," the college said. It's unknown if Oberlin College could take the appeal to a higher federal court since the Ohio Supreme Court decided not to hear its appeal or a cross-appeal filed by the Gibsons. Asked if an appeal was planned, Oberlin College spokesman Scott Wargo said he had no further information other than the statement the college put out on Tuesday. The family bakery has asked the courts to force Oberlin College to pay it and its attorneys more than $36 million they were awarded after winning a civil lawsuit against the college in Lorain County Common Pleas Court more than three years ago. A jury decided that the college defamed the Gibsons and their business and awarded a $44 million judgment in 2019. Judge John Miraldi reduced that to $25 million, because Ohio law limits monetary damages in civil cases. The bakery also was awarded more than $6.5 million in attorney fees, and millions of dollars in interest has collected on the judgment as well.In a subsequent statement, the Gibsons and their attorneys said Oberlin College "tried to frame this case with claims and issues that weren't on trial." "This has never been a case about a student's first amendment rights. Individuals' reputations should never be sacrificed at a false altar of free speech," the Gibsons and their attorneys said in a subsequent statement. The case began when, in November 2016, an Oberlin College student tried to shoplift and buy alcohol with a fake ID at the bakery. Allyn Gibson, the son and grandson of the owners, chased him out onto the street where the two got into an altercation. Two other students who were waiting for their friend outside joined in and assaulted Allyn Gibson. When Oberlin police arrived, they arrested the students and let Allyn Gibson go. The students later would plead guilty to misdemeanor charges in Oberlin Municipal Court. In the meantime, students gathered in protest outside the store for two days, calling the store racist and claiming a long history of racial discrimination against students of color by the Gibsons. Then-Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo was present during the protest and was accused of supporting the protesters, handing out flyers explaining the protest that called the bakery racist. She also was the adviser to the Student Senate, which issued a proclamation in support of the protests. Following the protests, the 100-year-plus relationship between the bakery and the college broke down, and the bakery sued the college. The case made its way through Lorain County courts for two years until the jury's verdict and both the college and the Gibsons appealed until Tuesday's decision was issued. "The Gibsons and the entire state of Ohio should appreciate that the jury, a unanimous 9th District Court of Appeals, and a majority of the justices on the Ohio Supreme Court recognized that the deplorable conduct of Oberlin College could not be camouflaged by misleading claims of free speech," the Gibsons' second statement of the day read. "The jury recognized Oberlin College's bullying tactics. The students admitted their misconduct, but Oberlin College could never admit that they were wrong. They presumed that they could bring the Gibsons to their knees. The power of truth has enabled the Gibson family to survive Oberlin's onslaught," the statement concluded.Attorneys Owen Rarric and Terry Moore of the law firm Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty, who also represented the bakery and its owners, also released a statement after the Ohio Supreme Court's announcement. Rarric, Moore and fellow attorneys Jackie Caldwell and Matthew Onest "made tremendous efforts at trial in obtaining the verdict and on appeal in sustaining it," the firm said. The jury found Oberlin College and Raimondo "liable for a devastating smear campaign aimed at the Gibsons and their 135-year-old family business." The jury's verdict "was a monumental victory for small businesses. It also serves as a reminder that the truth still matters and that even those with much power and influence must be held accountable for their conduct," the attorneys from KWGD attorneys said. "The Gibson family has worked exhaustively to keep the lights on at Gibson's Bakery in the years since the ruinous defamation, but without the relief awarded by the jury," Rarric and Moore said in the statement. "The Ohio Supreme Court decision delivers final justice, vindication, and that much-deserved relief." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.