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Gibson’s Bakery wins lawsuit against Oberlin — 41 Comments

1. I followed the coverage on Legal Insurrection closely. I have to say: I was amazed at the arrogant tone the defense posture took with Gibson’s. It obviously did not play well to the jury. After the ‘expert’ testified that Gibson’s 125-year-old business was only worth 35K, I knew they would lose.

   Brilliant win on a hard-to-win defamation case. Oberlin richly deserved to lose. I hope the punitives are harsh. (And I’m not a plaintiff oriented dude.)

2. Just, wow.

3. In the early 1970s, one of my brothers went to Oberlin, and I went to Grinnell, which was no better. This kind of black political activism was common then, and the colleges went out of their way to support it. It’s like a comet coming back with a curse.

   Even if Oberlin has to pay 33 million dollars this time around, it won’t break the pattern that these colleges are locked into. The colleges’ political, social, and intellectual identities are tied up with leftist activism. Without activism, the colleges lose credibility; they become just a bunch of spoiled white rich kids with high SAT scores.

   And the black activists will be happy to see the college pay millions. Most of them want to ruin the college as much as the bakery. That’s nothing to them. They all think they’re in training to destroy Amerika and capitalism.

4. The black students have gotten insanely radical in recent years.

   Here is another example.

   Students at Dartmouth were studying for finals. Why did the black students not feel obliged to study? This is a consequence of Mismatch, a result of unprepared students who are accepted to colleges they are not prepared for and in which they fail. The results include grade inflation, fake majors like “Studies” majors and finally rage at the system because they know they are failing. They don’t actually fail, of course, like flunking out., They just don’t learn anything, and know it.

5. Finally. Though it’s a long shot, but maybe other colleges will learn from Oberlin’s 11 million mistake.

6. That ought to set Oberlin back about 0.02% of their next tuition hike.

7. It may not surprise you that some of the materials used in courses taught by Meredith Raimondo contained “views that are intolerant of Israel and Jews”. Wherever SJWs go, the oldest hatred follows.

   http://www.thetower.org/3205-new-controversy-swirls-at-oberlin-around-appointment-of-interim-dean-of-students/

8. I’m hoping this is the start of a long-needed trend. And that Mr. Sandmann’s attorneys rip CNN and WaPo a new one.

9. Black activist students, not all black students.

   Although, the Oberlin student body being the Oberlin student body these days, I would wager that nearly all the students there–white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, native American, Pacific Islander, and whatever other categories I’ve no doubt left out—are leftist and radical.

   I said “nearly all.” It’s not all. See this, for example.

10. Excellent result!

11. I did not even know about this case until a couple of weeks ago but then went back over LI’s coverage to get an idea of what was going on. While it was clear Oberlin put up a very poor defense the award was still far beyond what anyone was considering, and they have not even gotten to the punitive damages yet. A stunning and very welcome outcome. Hopefully this will help make come true Instapundit’s mantra, “Get woke, go broke”.

12. Well, f*ck you, Raimondo. Not too surprising her response given her bio on Emory’s site.

13. *Oberlin’s site

14. It does seem a new wind is blowing. State changes in society can happen rapidly. See, the Sixties.

    The SJWs may be about to discover the arc of history is not their friend. They’ve been over-reaching for a long time.

15. This is indeed good news.

    What would make it even better would be if the court directed that none of the judgment could be paid by whatever liability insurance Oberlin has. Nor could it be paid out of their general endowment. Rather, the entire amount must be paid out of the budget of their office of diversity and inclusion, or whatever Orwellian name they use. If, as one would hope, this budget is exhausted before the debt is satisfied, the remainder be paid out of the budget of every single department with “studies” in the name.

    I know this is far beyond the court’s discretion; but it would be true justice.

16. “It may not surprise you that some of the materials used in courses taught by Meredith Raimondo contained “views that are intolerant of Israel and Jews”. ”

    I’m shocked, shocked

17. “I know this is far beyond the court’s discretion; but it would be true justice.” (i. e. insurance not paying)

    It may not be in the court’s discretion but it might be in the insurance company’s. I don’t really know all the ins and outs but there is some speculation in LI comments that the situation might not be covered. In any case as someone else pointed out if the insurance company *is* on the hook for it they will obviously not be too thrilled and will take measures with Oberlin to prevent it from happening again i. e. insist they show a little more backbone to the SJW contingent.

18. Insurance policies name the perils covered, and those not covered. I suspect that, from now on, perils involving “malicious” “stupid” “irrelevant to education” are going to be looked at closely in designing the next contracts offered to colleges. With, of course, premium adjustments upward.
    Even if the U wins in court, the expense of defense can be substantial, and that, too, might be subject to certain “malicious, etc.” limitations.

    These arrogant clowns didn’t think discovery would be a problem, so they didn’t settle. I suppose they figured that when their peers found out how low they’d gone, it would be seen as praiseworthy and woke. The jury…meh. Then, afterwards, they released a letter about how the jury missed the “clear evidence” (non existent) and came to the wrong answer. The jury may have heard about this ….which is interesting since the punitive amount has yet to be determined.
    Own goal. Foot shot. And they still don’t get it.

19. American “mob justice”. Gotta love it. Now people know what abolitionists felt speaking out against slavery in 1830s.

20. “What is most amazing about this trial is that the public was able to see what the process really was in how the school goes about its business,” Copeland said. “It’s almost like the mask has been ripped off the face and we can now see what the face really looks like.”

    Jupiter and Ketu helped uncover all the secrets.

21. Though it’s a long shot, but maybe other colleges will learn from Oberlin’s 11 million mistake.

    Colleges won’t improve until the professors learn humility. Which includes the STEM professors as well.

22. there is some speculation in LI comments that the situation might not be covered. In any case as someone else pointed out if the insurance company *is* on the hook for it they will obviously not be too thrilled and will take measures with Oberlin to prevent it from happening again i. e. insist they show a little more backbone to the SJW contingent.

    This is an interesting aspect of the case. I spent years on committees of hospitals I was practicing in. One old argument about doctors not policing their profession was that the doctor who was being policed would often sue. The hospital had a general liability insurance for such cases but the problem was that the lawyers for the suing doctor would always allege that the action taken was out of personal spite/ competition, etc. This meant that the doctors doing the policing would have to hire their own lawyers. That gets expensive and discourages participation.

    What if individuals at Oberlin were egging this on ? Could they be liable for personal suits ? Might they not be covered by insurance?

    Anyway, I can hope this is the first robin of spring.

23. I’ll have to keep an eye on Dean Meredith Raimundo’s career. U Miss eventually fired Melissa “We some muscle over here” Click for her rabble-rousing.

    Though Click didn’t miss a beat and is now a professor at Gonzaga U, a Roman Catholic school. One might think her career would have been set back further, given how competitive college teaching positions are, especially in a subject as vacuous as “Communications.”

    I suppose it would be too much to hope Oberlin will be hurt as much financially as U MIss has.

24. Hopefully, the corporations, institutions, and other deep pockets will reassess their capitulation, “taking a knee”, to the diversity racket.

25. I had not read about the trial until now and went over to LI to see. I think Raimundo is in deep trouble. Oberlin may take the hit but she is an obvious target. The Gibson lawyer did a spectacular job on Day 2 when he produced document that she circulated and asked her to sign them. Oberlin made a huge own goal when they refused to settle.

26. Oberlin has been revealed to be an institution of indoctrination rather than of education.
    Parents take note: send your children somewhere else (for example, Hillsdale College).

    I hope that this award will not be watered down by the appeals process.

27. And it’s very likely Oberlin’s insurance won’t cover the cost of the settlement.

28. Let us hope and pray that Oberlin’s insurance will not shield them from the financial consequences of their deliberate actions.

29. Their insurance has already indicated, months ago, they were likely not going to cover Oberlin if they lost. They had filed a 42-page intervention motion detailing their position. The motion was denied, but it will serve as a very strong basis for their declining coverage.

    Oberlin thus has nothing but bad options: pay the judgment, appeal the judgment (and risk spending more money and lose again), or sue their insurance company (which, again, will be very expensive.)

    Popcorn, please.

30. Notice that Meredith Raimondo is Dean of Students. I don’t know whether it’s widely know outside of academia but that office (sometimes Student Affairs, Student Life, etc.) is frequently very openly and vigorously left-wing activist. I’m tempted to say “almost always,” actually but I’m not sure if that’s accurate. More so than the faculty at large, I think. It’s responsible for the non-academic side of students’ affairs at the school–housing, extracurricular stuff, etc. Often run by people with thin or no academic credentials. I wonder what Raimondo’s PhD is in.

31. wiki says Oberlin has an endowment of $887.4 million. Can they write a check (not that they want to) out of the endowment?

    Oberlin is not an Ivy but it is ranked pretty high.

    #30 (tie) in National Liberal Arts Colleges
    #16 (tie) in Best Undergraduate Teaching
    #91 in Best Value Schools
    #16 (tie) in High School Counselor Rankings
    #21 (tie) in Most Innovative Schools

    https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/oberlin-college-3086

32. Re what Mac said above about the dean of students office in academia being “frequently very openly and vigorously left-wing activist”. That reminded me of just how bloated the number of administrative staff in educational institutions is now — from a piece in Forbes last year:

    The number of administrators at universities has exploded, growing much faster than the faculty. At a typical university, there are more administrators than faculty. The Office of the President of the University of California in recent years has had roughly 2,000 (!!) employees — none of whom teach. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, with 250 or so employees, is an administrative agency overseeing other administrative apparatuses at individual schools.

    This writer compared the administrative staff at a typical state institution, Ohio University, 50 years ago and today. To be sure, enrollments rose perhaps 25%, but the staff growth has been multiples of that. In 1967, there was no provost, only a vice-president of academic affairs with perhaps two assistants. Today, there are over 20 administrators in the provost office, including a “chief information officer,” a “senior vice provost for instructional innovation,” an “associate provost for academic budget and planning,” a “vice provost for global affairs” (secretary of state?), a “chief of staff,” an “university ombudsperson,” a “vice provost for diversity and inclusion,” an “executive director for the office of equity and civil rights compliance,” and an “associate provost for institutional research and effectiveness.” None of these jobs existed 50 years ago.

33. FOAF on June 8, 2019 at 12:20 am said:
    …A stunning and very welcome outcome. Hopefully this will help make come true Instapundit’s mantra, “Get woke, go broke”.
    * * *
    Someone needs to make a collection of The Wisdom of Instapundit.
    As Mike said, we can hope this is the first robin of spring.

34. “I am at a loss for words,” 64-year-old David Gibson told Legal Insurrection in an exclusive interview. “Two-and-a-half years of putting up with this has been very difficult and overwhelming. I just want to let people know across the country that this can happen to anyone else, but we stayed and worked together as a family and fought against this. In many ways, what we wanted from Oberlin College the jury gave to us. They said we were not racists and that the college should have said so when all this started.”

    “I thank the jury for seeing what we have seen from the beginning of this,” he said

    Owen Rarric, one of the lead attorneys for the Gibson’s, also pointed out that this case has national implications in this time of cultural debate.

    “The jury saw that Oberlin College went out of their way to harm a good family and longtime business in their community for no real reason, and the jury said we aren’t going to tolerate that in our community any more,” Rarric said. “The college kept saying we don’t control our students. But the jury told them that we can tolerate some of this from time to time, but not what you did this time.”

    Cake bakers and florists take note.
    I gather that the problem was not that the college doesn’t control its students (who can?), but that they egged them on, with direct intervention by an officer of the university.
    Yes, we can tolerate some degree of incivil and unjust behavior in our society, but no civilization can survive when that intolerance and persecution becomes the majority’s pastime.

35. “One old argument about doctors not policing their profession was that the doctor who was being policed would often sue.” – Mike K

    I always wondered why hospitals put up with incompetent physicians, rather than getting rid of them (and schools, teachers; etc.).
    That particular wrinkle had not occurred to me.
    Kind of sounds like the Caine Mutiny Courtmartial set-up.
    Still, there ought to have been some clear criteria for termination that the “policers” could use in their defense.
    On the other hand, some trial verdicts make you wonder if the jury is smoking something in the backroom.
    Hooray for these Twelve again!

36. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/06/accountability-for-oberlin.php

    One Oberlin faculty member, a retired theater professor, was a voice of sanity. He wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper criticizing Oberlin’s handling of the anti-Gibson’s jihad, which prompted a text from the Dean of Students to the college’s Communications Director: “Fuck him. I’d say unleash the students if I wasn’t convinced this needs to be put behind us.” It’s the kind of evidence trial lawyers love: it didn’t necessarily prove anything, but it lifted the lid on what horrible, arrogant people social justice warriors are.

    In my view, the main significance of the jury’s verdict is that is shows how normal people react when they are exposed to today’s campus leftism. You cannot sell to a normal person the idea that it is “racism” for a store to catch a student stealing a bottle of wine, and call the police, merely on account of the student’s skin color. Social justice warrior culture is insane, and is properly judged as such by normal people, who–luckily for them–tend not to encounter it often. The jury’s reaction to the demonization of Gibson’s bakery is, I think, a good indication of how most Americans will respond if, and when, they realize how depraved the Left has become.

    Indeed.
    My only quibble is that normal people are encountering the insanity far too often now, through news reports if not personally, and are pushing back against it where they can.

37. “Fuck him. I’d say unleash the students if I wasn’t convinced this needs to be put behind us.”

    That’s my favorite bit. Oberlin may have lost the case on that alone.

38. The “Chronicle-Telegraph,” the local paper to Oberlin, ran an article on Oberlin’s loss. I read through much of the comment section. A student, CNM, responded and attempted to defend Oberlin students in a poor-mouth, poorly informed way. CNM was good enough to hang in and debate, but acquitted [reflexive pronoun here] poorly.

    CNM: As a student, we deserve to be miserable. This will put financial strain on our school which is ALREADY in debt, and therefore make it more difficult for students to afford oberlin. Incoming students who werent even a part of this whole mess at that. Gibsons is not really struggling, they just make it seem like they are, and in reality it is frustrating that people do not seem to understand who Oberlin students really are, which is a wide variety of young people just trying to get a good education.

    http://www.chroniclet.com/Local-News/2019/06/07/Gibson-s-Bakery-v-Oberlin-College-More-than-11-million-awarded.html

    Of course, Oberlin is not in debt, but is running a deficit, the lawsuit in no way hinges upon Oberlin’s financial state though the financial harm to Gibson is germane, and Gibson has been hit hard enough to lay off about a third of its employees.

    Not to mention the outright, undocumented libel that Gibson was a “racist establishment with a history of racial profiling,” on a flyer, which Raimondo, the Dean of Students and a college vice-president helped distribute.

    It’s a shame but no surprising how poor CNM’s critical thinking skills are. No doubt a testament to the first-rate education Oberlin provides to its students for hefty fees.

39. What do Evergreen College (WA) and Oberlin College (OH) have in common? Doctors of Diversity in the administration that will burn it all down (their places of employment) to get the “man” and further “justice.”

    How does that song go? “We didn’t start the fire ….” Oopsie, chickens came home to roost.

40. We didn’t start the fire
    It was always burning since the world’s been turning
    We didn’t start the fire
    No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p3DzUwxI0o
    –Billy Joel

    om: That’s a deeper song than you may think.

    Joel wrote it after he heard a 21 year-old complaining about how crazy things were in the late 80s as though no previous humans had ever had to endure living in a crazy world.

    The above link plays the song with a great historical video clip accompaniment.

    History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.

    –James Joyce, “Ulysses”

41. A consummation devoutly to be wished! *applause*

    .

    From Legal Insurrection, at Neo’s initial link, boldface mine:

    All three* eventually would plead guilty to shoplifting and aggravated trespassing, and would avow that Gibson’s was not engaged in racial profiling.

    *The actual shoplifter, and two students who joined in to support him at the time of the shoplifting. Oberlin decided the three were being discriminated against by Gibson’s because of their Negro, or part-Negro, ancestry: in other words, because they were “black.”

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