Incredible. I’d have expected them to have shuttered the business after all that friction. I’m glad they have stood fast. Obviously, they do not require the school to keep their shop running smoothly.
As I have followed the narrative, the Gibson family (3 generations) as owners, had to discharge all of the non-family employees and ran the store & bakery without pay in order to remain in business. Given the $11 million in judgement for damages, they were probably maxed out in loans and unlikely to survive a defeat. Now I wonder if the discharged employees can sue Oberlin & staff for lost wages?
Their business did take a big hit. They had a contract supplying baked goods to the college, which was cancelled. They had to lay off most of their employees. In the court case, they were able to show the financial damages caused by Oberlin College’s libel, which lead to the big damage award.
In addition to libel, another one of the claims in the lawsuit against Oberlin was tortious interference in a contract. (Gibsons contract was with a third party catering contractor to the college)