Ohio court upheld $32 million win against Oberlin College over false racial accusations
Gutfeld and guests discuss the Ohio court’s decision to grant a $32 million victory to a bakery over Oberlin college students due to false racial accusations on ‘Gutfeld!’
After the Ohio Supreme Court declared Oberlin College owed $36 million in damages to a bakery owner over false racism accusations, that owner is scared she'll never get a dime of it.
Lorna Gibson, writing for Bari Weiss' Common Sense website, detailed how she feels her family was victimized by the small, progressive college in northern Ohio, over a shoplifting incident in 2016 that led to devastating consequences for her family and became a national scandal.
"We’ve been in business for 137 years, so we’ve had our fair share of shoplifters, including earlier that very week. That particular night, a student from the local college, Oberlin, had tried to steal two bottles of wine, and use a fake ID to buy a third. Our son, Allyn, had pursued him across the street. Two more students got involved. Allyn was beaten up pretty badly, and the three students were arrested," Gibson wrote.
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Pedestrians pass the storefront of Gibson's Food Mart and Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio, on Nov. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Dake Kang, File)
"David was afraid the incident would blow up, since the students claimed to the police that my son had assaulted them—not the other way around. He told me he was scared it would hurt our business since the students who were arrested were black and bystanders were already claiming that Allyn had racially profiled them," she continued. "But none of us had any idea of what was about to happen."
The next day, Gibson’s bakery was flooded with students and college administrators calling to boycott the establishment, complete with signs and serious accusations.
"They chanted ‘Boycott Gibson’s’ and held signs that said we were white supremacists. They called us racists on their bullhorns. The students weren’t alone. College administrators were there, too, handing out flyers and addressing the crowd on a bullhorn. The protesters also distributed flyers that said we had a ‘LONG ACCOUNT of RACIAL PROFILING and DISCRIMINATION,’" Gibson wrote. "They blocked the door and screamed at customers who elbowed their way through to the counter. A few came in to record videos on their phones of our customers. This went on all day. Late that night, when I went to collect the tables and chairs that we keep outside for customers, I was surrounded by screaming protestors. I was frightened—and all I could think was that I needed to keep our employees safe."
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Gibson wrote that protests continued, damaging her business’ relationship with the nearby school. Prior to the incident, Gibson’s bakery had a "wonderful" relationship with Oberlin, she wrote, regularly delivering baked good and ice cream at various events.
Bari Weiss, a former New York Times opinion editor, provided a platform for Lorna Gibson to explain her situation. (Real Time with Bill Maher /HBO screenshot)
"A week after the incident, the school canceled all of our standing orders. That was just the beginning of my family’s nightmare," she wrote, going on to outline her family's fruitless efforts to stand up to the school's claims that it wasn't an isolated incident and Oberlin's student senate passing a resolution urging the college to cut ties.
"David met with the President of the school, along with other administrators, to try to get Oberlin to retract its baseless claims that we were racist, and to quell the small group of students who, in their passion, had gotten us so wrong. But Oberlin would not even consider issuing a statement, and allowed the public to believe that we were in fact ‘racist,’ even after the students pled guilty," she wrote.
They ultimately sued for libel.
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However, Gibson’s bakery was already "falling apart" because the entire community considered them racists by the time the trial started. A series of health emergencies, including David being diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer, rocked the family even further, and even after the jury found in their favor, their troubles weren't over.
The owners of Gibson's Food Mart and Bakery sued Oberlin College in 2017, claiming that the school had libeled them and said that their business was harmed by their actions. (AP)
"Once the trial started, David decided to pause the treatments so he could be as strong as possible in court. It was important to him that the jury not find out that he was sick. He wanted the case to be decided on the basis of the facts alone," she wrote. "When the jury found in our favor—they ruled that we were owed $44 million in damages (which was later reduced to $31 million)—relief washed over me. I thought we’d finally be able to move past this and get back to work."
After the verdict was handed down, David’s cancer spread and he died in 2019. His final wish was to keep the bakery going, but the family still has not received any money from the school.
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Gibson wrote that if she ever receives the money she would use it to "replace the compressors for the refrigerators and replace the fryers and proofers that we use for our dough," "pay off the mortgages on my properties that I’ve taken out in the past few years" and hire additional staff to help keep the business afloat.
An Oberlin College spokesperson provided Fox News Digital with the following statement: "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 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."