by Bob Walsh
Gibson's Bakery is a fourth or fifth generation family bakery in Oberlin, Ohio. That's where Oberlin College is located. It did a pretty good business with students from Oberlin and the university itself, until November 2016.
On November 9 of that year a student attempted to shoplift two bottles of wine. No doubt he did it. He had two bottles stuffed in his shirt. The employees detained him, the cops arrested him. He later plead guilty, there is no question. The trouble is, he and two other students he was with are Black.
The very next day hundreds of people showed up in front of the bakery to protest. They called for a boycott. The owners were called racists and White Supremacists. The arrest was claimed to be the result of racial profiling. (Nobody ever claimed the arrest was bogus.)
Oberlin College cut off it's 100 year business relationship with the bakery. Even after the shoplifter confessed and stated up front that the arrest had no racial component the racist accusations kept coming not only from students but from employees of the college and the college itself. College officials passed out fliers accusing the bakery owners of being racist. College funds were used to support the protest.
The owners sued the college. The claim was for libel, intentional infliction of distress and tortious interference with business relationships. The verdict just came in. The jury awarded Gibson's $11 MILLION in compensatory damages and $33 MILLION in punitive damages. That verdict is likely to be reduced somewhat due to Ohio's tort damage limits, but it is still a noteworthy win. The college is almost certainly not responsible for the actions of it's students, but when their employees and officers commit libel and slander, and provide aid, including financial aid to the students, know they are incorrect but go with it anyway they are laying themselves open for major financial exposure.
I wonder if their insurance will cover this? Is it possible to buy "We were stupid" insurance? I don't know what their funding situation is but I doubt that can take this out of petty cash.
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