Shamed Oberlin College FINALLY pays $25M to Gibson's bakery, but both father and son owners have died
OBERLIN, OHIO: After being sued for libel over a shoplifting incident involving three black students, Oberlin College has already paid up the $25 million judgment to an Ohio bakery. The store's proprietors, Allyn Gibson and his son David Gibson filed a lawsuit against Oberlin College in 2017, alleging that the college had libeled them and that the demonstrations over the shoplifting had hurt their business.
Both Allyn and David Gibson had alleged at the time that the accusations had caused the store to close down but they died before the settlement was finalized. The protracted legal battle involving a liberally inclined municipality and school that lasted a year turned into a discussion on political correctness, free speech, and racism. In 2019, a Lorain County jury gave the Gibsons a $44 million judgment which was later reduced to $25 million. In August, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it would not hear an appeal of the ruling. According to Brandon McHugh, an attorney for the Gibsons, all of the money has finally been paid to the family-owned bakery, WKYC-TV in Cleveland reported. The institution also paid more than $11 million in attorney fees and interest on top of the $25 million judgment.
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The complaint was brought after David Gibson followed and tackled a black male student in 2016 who he thought had stolen a bottle of wine. The male student's companions, two black female students, attempted to step in. After being arrested, all three of them admitted guilt to misdemeanor crimes. Following the arrests, there were demonstrations outside Gibson's Bakery where fliers accusing the Gibsons of racism were distributed, some by the vice president and dean of students of Oberlin College. All students received an email criticizing the Gibsons and the resolution was put in a showcase at the student center where it stayed for a year. Officials from Oberlin College instructed the campus food vendor to stop purchasing goods from Gibson's bakery.
Oberlin College has expressed its hope that the settlement of the legal dispute would signal the start of the community's reconciliation earlier this fall in a statement. The two original owners who filed the lawsuit are no longer living. 65-year-old David Gibson died in November 2019. Meanwhile, Allyn Gibson died at the age of 93 in February 2022. After a jury determined that the college had falsely accused Gibson's Bakery of being racist after the owner of the business chased down three black students who had stolen from it in November 2016, the college was forced to pay compensation for defaming their business. The sum increased to almost $36.5 million after legal expenses and interest were included.
On December 15, McHugh welcomed the sizable payment. “With Oberlin's decision to not pursue any additional appeals, the Gibson Family's fight is finally over,” said Brandon McHugh, as reported by Daily Mail. “Truth still matters, and David has overcome Goliath.” According to McHugh, the decision prevented the family business from failing. “While Oberlin College has still refused to admit they were wrong, the jury, a unanimous panel from the court of appeals, and a majority of the Ohio Supreme Court decided otherwise,” he said. “Now, the Gibsons will be able to rebuild the business their family started 137 years ago and keep the lights on for another generation.”