Posted on 06/02/2022 7:46:07 PM PDT by Steely Tom
Attorneys for Gibson's Bakery in Oberlin have asked a Lorain County judge to order their clients be paid a $36 million-plus judgment they're owed by Oberlin College after the college failed to file an appropriate motion with a state appeals court.
Oberlin College didn't ask for a stay of a 9th District Court of Appeals ruling in March that rejected its appeal, attorneys for the Gibsons argued in a court document filed Friday.
As a result, the college should pay what a jury and court determined was owed the family bakery and its owners from a 2019 civil trial — plus interest, attorneys for the Gibsons argued.
The 9th District Court of Appeals rejected appeals by both the college and the bakery in March.
Oberlin College appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court two weeks ago. The NAACP, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the National Coalition Against Censorship and Defending Rights and the Student Press Law Center have filed briefs in support of the college.
In the motion filed in his court Friday, Gibson Bros. Inc. and the estates of the late David Gibson and Allyn W. "Grandpa" Gibson asked Lorain County Common Pleas Judge John Miraldi to award them the $36,127,181 they're owed.
The original award was $31,614,531 on the "date of filing," or July 17, 2019, according to the Gibsons. That comes with an interest rate of 5 percent over the 1,045 days since.
The interest payments on the judgment adds more than $4.5 million to the final bill the Gibsons are seeking from Oberlin College.
Oberlin College got an appeal bond through Zurich American Insurance Co. after Miraldi ordered the college to do so in July 2019. Also called supersedeas bonds, appeals bonds ensure a monetary judgment can be paid if an appeal fails.
Oberlin College posted the appeal bond after the jury initially awarded the Gibsons $44 million in damages. It was the largest damage award for libel in Ohio history until Miraldi reduced it to $25 million based on Ohio caps on civil damages.
As long as the judgment stands against it, Oberlin College also owes the Gibsons $6.5 million in attorney fees.
After Oberlin College's most recent appeal failed, the Gibsons intend to collect, their attorneys wrote.
"There is no valid stay of execution of judgment remaining, and the Gibsons are entitled to judgment in accordance with the mandate from the 9th District Court of Appeals," their attorneys wrote.
"Nearly three years ago, a jury of Lorain County citizens took an oath, served through a nearly six-week trial, carefully deliberated, and found Oberlin College and its dean of students (Meredith Raimondo) liable for their ruinous accusations and intentional conduct aimed at the Gibsons," their attorneys wrote. "Much has happened since, including the tragic deaths of David and Allyn Gibson — neither of whom lived to see justice done for their family and its business."
"The bakery continues to labor under the effects of the stigma created" by Oberlin College and Raimondo, the Gibsons' attorneys wrote, "but without the relief awarded by the jury."
It's now within Miraldi's power to enforce the court's original judgment and "honor the jury's verdict," they wrote.
"It is time to execute on the judgment awarded by them, entered by this court, and affirmed by a unanimous panel of the Ninth District Court of Appeals," the Gibsons' attorneys wrote.
The college has relied on an argument it was simply trying to protect students' rights to protest the bakery after three students were arrested there in November 2016 in a shoplifting incident and assault.
The students pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, but the college stopped doing business with the bakery for some time after, and allegedly tried to make the criminal case against its students go away.
Raimondo allegedly distributed fliers calling the bakery "racist" during the protest, and as Student Senate adviser allowed a similar resolution to remain posted in a campus building for weeks after.
When the bakery and the college couldn't come to an understanding — the college said the Gibsons demanded money — the Gibsons sued.
The saga continues.
The 5% interest is chump change. I would hope that the judge would see the abject refusal to pay as just contempt of court. Slap the college with $100,000 a day until they pay up. They have the money; they just don’t want to part with it. Make them want to.
Soo the NAACP thinks it’s okay for black kids to steal and their college to destroy the business that caught them stealing????
I seem to remember reading that someone at Oberlin said they had no intention of paying and were never going to pay.
So it would appear.
That certainly seems to be how they're playing it.
Time to haul off all of the big wigs from that pathetic institution and jail them until they pay, just as it would happen to we little people.
Going by their record on appeal so far, I'll have to go with, "The Gibson heirs will buy whatever cars they want."
For Oberlin, on the other hand, if your main asset is a college campus, it's hard to find a place to hide it from the debt collectors.
There is appeal bond with the court.
Al the court has to do is release it.
I think court and jury found that Raimondo actually posted the flyers. Allegedly went out the door 3 years ago.
Why would the Ohio Chamber of Commerce favor Oberlin in this case? What happened to Gibson Bakery can happen to any business in any state if Oberlin is not required to make those payments.
But that wouldn’t be the end of the story. If Zurich pays out for the settlement, it will then turn around and seize assets from the college to cover their loss. I can assure you that a major insurance company like Zurich will have little patience — and plenty of legal resources at its disposal — to get its money back from a renegade scofflaw like Oberlin that doesn’t meet its legal obligations.
Oberlin is a bigger economic player in Ohio than Gibson Bakery is. That’s the only reason why the Chamber of Commerce would ever support the school in this fight.
Nah - school is going to end up paying this one. Ohio Supreme Court is majority Republican, and it was a clean trial.
They're daring the sheriff to initiate seizure proceedings.
The students will go ape, chaining themselves to pillars, railings and doors, gluing themselves to roads and sidewalks, etc. The news media will turn it into an international spectacle. Faculty will join in. Celebrity Oberlin alumni will join in, including many in the media.
They think they can win this.
Bankrupt them, Gibsons. Don’t leave them two nickels to rub together.
Why not perfect the judgement and start selling off pieces of the college?
Al the court has to do is release it.
From Investopedia:
So it looks like Oberlin has already parted with the money, if I'm reading this right. The only issue is will Zurich American fork over the dough.
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