Oberlin defamation suit and verdict : not a good optic

[Anonymous]

Oberlin will pay some amount. It won’t be small. I doubt the whole verdict will be overturned. Too much evidence against Oberlin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Now, with punitive damages, the total jury award is $44 million. Wow.

Actually the punitives are capped by state law at twice the compensatory damages.

So the $33 million punitive awarded will automatically be reduced to $22 million.

That means the plaintiff will receive $33 million in total ($11 million compensatory plus $22 million punitive) plus attorneys fees and costs.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/06/oberlin-college-hit-with-maximum-punitive-damages-capped-at-22-million-by-law-in-gibsons-bakery-case/

That's an insane amount of money.

I assume the college is insured against things like this?

That's why the insurance companies are trying to submit a motion. They don't want to have to pay out all this money because of a bunch of stupid students and a silly dean.

It will be interesting if this award is upheld because you better believe that every insurance company will be quickly reevaluating all their insurance policies with the colleges. There are pros and cons to this. The upside is that it would hopefully force the colleges to be a lot more careful in how they endorse/support student protests. Which is sensible.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/06/13/ohio-jury-hits-oberlin-college-with-ferocious-and-illegal-punitive-damages/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0JvAT_BRf1V8fh0Ftb6bo7QNGTERgNhv_8NPd-8vaYSM_jx9KLQcROKFA

I read the commentary and respect the writer's opinion. He brings up several excellent points and I also agree that the jury award was ridiculous and the jury can be argued to be seeking to punish Oberlin rather than seeking the fairest remedy.

As he stated, "But courts are supposed to temper anger with a respect for the rule of law." One can argue that Oberlin did not show respect for the rule of law as evidenced by the Dean's attitude and handling of the police's investigation. More to that, Oberlin was at fault for allowing a certain campus and thought climate to flourish that led to the protests and encounter with the bakery, which the writer himself admits. The question then becomes what is the fair remedy for the situation? Did the college use its influence to try to tamper with the bakery's actions? And the bakery's commercial activities by endorsing the student protests and suspending trading activities with the bakery and called other suppliers to do the same? To what extent are financial damages justified in the name of freedom of speech?

All these are surely questions to be addressed when considering a fair remedy to the lawsuit. It will be interesting to see what follows.

? That's why they're called punitive damages. The compensatory damages were 11 million

+1

What do you seriously think is a "fair remedy" to a relentless, strategic and malicious attack on your character, your livelihood, your retirement and the legacy for your dependents? Something that wiped out your retirement accounts, caused you extreme stress and anxiety and health issues, the risk of physical danger to yourself and your family, and something that could ultimately drive you out of your home and actually the entire town where you had made a life? Accusing you of what is essentially a hate crime? What's fair for that?? Five bucks??

Oberlin is a well established and formerly well respected institution, which is why the smear campaign worked in the first place. Outrageous. They can pay, and so they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now, with punitive damages, the total jury award is $44 million. Wow.

Actually the punitives are capped by state law at twice the compensatory damages.

So the $33 million punitive awarded will automatically be reduced to $22 million.

That means the plaintiff will receive $33 million in total ($11 million compensatory plus $22 million punitive) plus attorneys fees and costs.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/06/oberlin-college-hit-with-maximum-punitive-damages-capped-at-22-million-by-law-in-gibsons-bakery-case/

That's an insane amount of money.

I assume the college is insured against things like this?

That's why the insurance companies are trying to submit a motion. They don't want to have to pay out all this money because of a bunch of stupid students and a silly dean.

It will be interesting if this award is upheld because you better believe that every insurance company will be quickly reevaluating all their insurance policies with the colleges. There are pros and cons to this. The upside is that it would hopefully force the colleges to be a lot more careful in how they endorse/support student protests. Which is sensible.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/06/13/ohio-jury-hits-oberlin-college-with-ferocious-and-illegal-punitive-damages/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0JvAT_BRf1V8fh0Ftb6bo7QNGTERgNhv_8NPd-8vaYSM_jx9KLQcROKFA

I read the commentary and respect the writer's opinion. He brings up several excellent points and I also agree that the jury award was ridiculous and the jury can be argued to be seeking to punish Oberlin rather than seeking the fairest remedy.

As he stated, "But courts are supposed to temper anger with a respect for the rule of law." One can argue that Oberlin did not show respect for the rule of law as evidenced by the Dean's attitude and handling of the police's investigation. More to that, Oberlin was at fault for allowing a certain campus and thought climate to flourish that led to the protests and encounter with the bakery, which the writer himself admits. The question then becomes what is the fair remedy for the situation? Did the college use its influence to try to tamper with the bakery's actions? And the bakery's commercial activities by endorsing the student protests and suspending trading activities with the bakery and called other suppliers to do the same? To what extent are financial damages justified in the name of freedom of speech?

All these are surely questions to be addressed when considering a fair remedy to the lawsuit. It will be interesting to see what follows.

? That's why they're called punitive damages. The compensatory damages were 11 million

+1

What do you seriously think is a "fair remedy" to a relentless, strategic and malicious attack on your character, your livelihood, your retirement and the legacy for your dependents? Something that wiped out your retirement accounts, caused you extreme stress and anxiety and health issues, the risk of physical danger to yourself and your family, and something that could ultimately drive you out of your home and actually the entire town where you had made a life? Accusing you of what is essentially a hate crime? What's fair for that?? Five bucks??

Oberlin is a well established and formerly well respected institution, which is why the smear campaign worked in the first place. Outrageous. They can pay, and so they should.

+ a million.

[Anonymous]

Oberlin has over a billion dollars in assets.
They need to pay up for their egregious racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why anyone would pay $70K for this school is beyond me. It's not an education.

It's the same sort of "education" Jussie Smollett must have had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin has over a billion dollars in assets.
They need to pay up for their egregious racism.

+1

[Anonymous]

Will the feckless college administrators who allowed this to happen be fired? Their refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the student activists had done anything wrong surely contributed to the huge punitive damages award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will the feckless college administrators who allowed this to happen be fired? Their refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the student activists had done anything wrong surely contributed to the huge punitive damages award.

No, there will be no accountability. Clown college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the feckless college administrators who allowed this to happen be fired? Their refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the student activists had done anything wrong surely contributed to the huge punitive damages award.

No, there will be no accountability. Clown college.

It is surreal that the dumb Dean of Students is still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the feckless college administrators who allowed this to happen be fired? Their refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the student activists had done anything wrong surely contributed to the huge punitive damages award.

No, there will be no accountability. Clown college.

It is surreal that the dumb Dean of Students is still there.

It’s one thing for the students to protest. It sounds like the school administration organized, used school resources and funding to attack people associated with this business and the business. The question is will this judgement change anything at the school? Does not seem so. If the judgement was more maybe the board of governors would step in and take action. Everyone in the administration who took part in this needs to be terminate...include the lawyers for the school. The administration sounds like a bunch of power tripping jerk offs...not that uncommon in academia.

[Anonymous]

This outcome probably has the attention of the legal council for the Washington Post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This outcome probably has the attention of the legal council for the Washington Post.

Do you mean legal counsel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the feckless college administrators who allowed this to happen be fired? Their refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the student activists had done anything wrong surely contributed to the huge punitive damages award.

No, there will be no accountability. Clown college.

It is surreal that the dumb Dean of Students is still there.

It’s one thing for the students to protest. It sounds like the school administration organized, used school resources and funding to attack people associated with this business and the business. The question is will this judgement change anything at the school? Does not seem so. If the judgement was more maybe the board of governors would step in and take action. Everyone in the administration who took part in this needs to be terminate...include the lawyers for the school. The administration sounds like a bunch of power tripping jerk offs...not that uncommon in academia.

Well said.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't let my child go there. Now the world knows how crazy they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My child attends Oberlin and started after this event happened. While it doesn’t reflect well on some students and some administrators it’s not representative of everyone. It’s a great community and my child is thriving. Seems like people on this board have way too much time on their hands. Just don’t send your child there if you can’t get past this issue. Oberlin will do fine in the long run.

Oberlin has proved itself to be the ultimate racists.
I'm sorry your child is there.

Using a wide brush stroke like that, you must think Yale and Stanford people are all involved in the recent pay-to-play bribery scandal. There are plenty other great things going on in Yale, Stanford, and in Oberlin. People who use wide brush stroke usually are loners, become a monk, move into a monastery, or in your case, probably a retirement home. You sound like a grumpy ol’ fart even your spouse can’t stand.

DP. Just wanted to point out that in the bribery scandal, only a few administrators and coaches were involved. We didn't see a mass of students protesting a man who had done *nothing wrong* and a dean defending their behavior, to boot. The Oberlin community was behind this and there is no denying that. Terrible comparison.

These scammers all worked for Yale, Stanford, USC - and represented themselves as such. You are just senile.

We're talking about the STUDENT BODY, idiot. Oberlin's student body protested this shop owner and made him out to be a racist. And Oberlin's administration sat idly by and let it happen. Shame on them and shame on you for excusing their behavior.