Dear Members of the Oberlin Community:
I am writing to update you on the lawsuit that Gibson Bros., Inc. filed against Oberlin College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas in November 2017.
Following a trial that spanned almost a full month, the jury found for the plaintiffs earlier today.
We are disappointed with the verdict and regret that the jury did not agree with the clear evidence our team presented.
Neither Oberlin College nor Dean Meredith Raimondo defamed a local business or its owners, and they never endorsed statements made by others. Rather, the College and Dr. Raimondo worked to ensure that students’ freedom of speech was protected and that the student demonstrations were safe and lawful, and they attempted to help the plaintiffs repair any harm caused by the student protests.
As we have stated, colleges cannot be held liable for the independent actions of their students. Institutions of higher education are obligated to protect freedom of speech on their campuses and respect their students’ decision to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights. Oberlin College acted in accordance with these obligations.
While we are disappointed with the outcome, Oberlin College wishes to thank the members of the jury for their attention and dedication during this lengthy trial. They contributed a great deal of time and effort to this case, and we appreciate their commitment.
Our team will review the jury’s verdict and determine how to move forward.
Donica Thomas Varner
Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
_______
Seriously, how can you have an entire higher education school not understand that there is such a thing as libel or slander? Libel and slander laws have existed in governments long before the United States even became a country. They certainly exist in 2019, and these civil laws certainly cover calling a small business owner a racist without any evidence that he/she is.
There is no first amendment protection to commit either libel or slander against a private citizen of this country. There is certainly no first amendment protection when the purpose of your libel or slander is to ruin someone's business or their means to make a living, all because you are angry.
Moreover, when you go into a downtown area, block multiple business from their customers, chant and protest in a large mob, that is not considered freedom of speech on a "campus". Their "campus" does not include the entire town. If all Oberlin College students had done was peacefully assemble on the college campus itself, we may have seen a different result in all of this. But they didn't. They purposely went to disrupt the people of the town, disrupt as many businesses as they could, and specifically destroy Gibson Bakery itself.
This could have been a learning experience for these students. Sort of what to do and what not to do as it pertains to your freedom of expression. It could have been a learning experience for the rule of law, the respect of other Americans, and the fact that there are actual limits to how far your hateful political views can be pushed down the throats of people who don't want to hear them.
Unfortunately, the leaders of Oberlin college don't see it that way. Certainly if the administration and faculty don't see it that way, the students will not see it that way either. They will come out of all of this feeling like "they" were the ones wronged (again), while not understanding that they were the ones causing the harm and the wrong.
29 comments:
A college is to be held guilty for anything their students may independently do?
get woke, go broke...
"general counsel" eh?
what a fucking moron. if anything, her little sjw diatribe might've just added to the pile of $$$ gibson's will receive from oberlin during the punitive phase of the proceeding.
that's some brilliant lawyering right there.
jabba the nadler needs to hire that broad. he can definitely use talent like this on his crack impeachment team.
James...
Apparently you don't know the meaning of the word "independently". But your lack of understanding of the case notwithstanding, the reality is that the School is being held liable, to to the tune of somewhere between $11 and $33 million.
That's how things work in our civil court system. Liberal colleges don't get to make up the rules and demand the result. The courts make the rules, and THE PEOPLE speak!
for those like pastor pederast who have been too fucking stupid and lazy to follow this story, professor jacobson over at his legal insurrection blog has been covering this case in granular detail for the past two years -
https://legalinsurrection.com/
I myself experienced a situation where university students took things into their own hands and disobeyed local town laws during the Vietnam War protests. The idea that the university could be held responsible for their independent actions does not seem to have occurred to anyone
Thank you, Rat, for giving me another excuse to tell the truth about myself.
Rev. James Boswell said...
From the Pulpit
James Boswell
A novel
approach to
Jesus
Honest biblical scholarship has revealed realities about the historical Jesus that are not widely shared in churches because they are considered too disturbing. Those realities indicate that Jesus had a number of mistaken expectations about his near future, and if that is true, it means that he was a limited human being -- something which many Christians, especially fundamentalists and Bible literalists, will not admit, for it reveals that Jesus was not "inerrant."
Although that is disturbing, if something is true, it is true. I have tried, therefore, in a recent novel, to be as honest about Jesus as I can and must be. That does not mean that I enjoy being controversial or hurtful. Rather, it means I am convinced that any truth about Jesus should somehow result in good. Somehow, it should. For that reason, I am delighted to learn that there are atheists, skeptics, and members of other world religions who find my depiction of Jesus so convincing that they now believe he really did exist, and are interested in learning more about him. I recommend the "Info" page on my website,www.TheDeadSeaGospel.com, for a listing of some excellent historical Jesus studies now available.
However, I was even more delighted to receive a note from a Christian believer indicating that she also benefited from historical honesty. She wrote, "Your work, The Dead Sea Gospel, genuinely impacted my life with its theologies and perspectives on the historical Jesus. In fact I can't stop thinking about it, and thoughts of it influence and abide in my Lenten reflections. In sum, I find it liberating -- in no way damaging my faith. but rather enhancing it. Thank you.Your book is a gift. I feel indebted to you."
She also said she found the novel's storytelling "stunning. [This] Jesus is radically incarnate, thoroughly and even limitedly human. I find my faith strengthened, not lessened by that fact. And paradoxically, as I encounter Jesus emerging in such (human) form, I find myself grasping and embracing the idea and mystery of atonement as never before! This remarkable novel, grounded in brilliant scholarship, has actually renewed my faith and contributed to my spiritual understanding of Jesus."
I am humbly, deeply grateful for such responses, whether they come from skeptics or from believers. And any "brilliance" in my book is largely attributable to the exceptional studies listed on that "info" page. Good studying to all!
________________
Boswell is a retired Disciples of Christ pastor. He may be contacted on his website.
Apparently, you are the only one who gives a shit about this crap, Lil Scotty......BWAAAA Why do you ignore the current NRA criminal enterprise with their leader skimming membership money to lead his lavish lifestyle....the NRA used to be a gun safety group, now they are unabashed lobbyists spending more money on rights than safety....You want a subject....start with that group of criminals....Sad, you choose bakers rights over the gay community which out number bakers by thousands to one.......
Kushner Firm Got $90M From Unknown Foreign Investors
“A real estate company part-owned by Jared Kushner has received $90m in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since he entered the White House as a senior adviser to his father-in-law Donald Trump,” the Guardian reports.
“Investment has flowed from overseas to the company, Cadre, while Kushner works as an international envoy for the US… The money came through a vehicle run by Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven that guarantees corporate secrecy.”
As I thought, that Lil Scotty issue of the Dowd tape and what it said was a whole lot more complicated than Lil Scotty could fathom....typical for low intellect trump slurpers who think they are hot shit.....BWAAAAAAA!!!!!
By Michael S. Schmidt and Charlie Savage
June 9, 2019
39
WASHINGTON — As the special counsel’s investigators pursued the question of whether President Trump tried to impede their work, they uncovered compelling evidence — a voice mail recording and statements from a trusted witness — that might have led to him.
A lawyer for Mr. Trump, John M. Dowd, reached out to a lawyer for a key witness who had just decided to cooperate with the government, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Dowd fished in his message for a heads-up if Mr. Flynn was telling investigators negative information about Mr. Trump — while also appearing to say that if Mr. Flynn was just cutting a deal without also flipping on the president, then he should know Mr. Trump still liked him.
But the president’s role, if any, remains a mystery. Mr. Dowd never said whether Mr. Trump directed him to make the overture. And investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, declined to question Mr. Dowd about his message, citing “attorney-client-privilege issues.”
The release of the recording last week served as a reminder that despite the considerable evidence laid out in the 448-page Mueller report, some tantalizing questions about the president’s conduct went unanswered because investigators encountered obstacles or backed off on pursuing leads.
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Mr. Dowd could have told investigators whether Mr. Trump knew about his message and had directed him to convey it, and whether any such conversation included dangling a veiled suggestion of a potential pardon at Mr. Flynn. The question is whether it amounted to witness tampering.
[The special counsel played by the rules. The president made new ones.]
Legal experts were divided on whether Mr. Mueller’s team should have sought to question Mr. Dowd. The investigators compiled substantial evidence that Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice even without Mr. Dowd’s testimony, and an attempt to interview him could have set off a lengthy court battle with an uncertain outcome.
“Given all that Mueller’s team had on their plate, it doesn’t strike me as unreasonable for them to have said, ‘This is not what we want to spend our time on,’” said David A. Sklansky, a Stanford law professor and a former criminal prosecutor.
But questioning Mr. Dowd about whether Mr. Trump wanted him to dangle pardons or other favorable treatment to witnesses might have been a worthy investigative pursuit because it would have cut to the heart of whether the president abused his power.
Hi, hiding Roger, pedo Paster and of course White Flag Dummy Denise.
Outraged already.
He goat fucker...
Go hill a tomato and let us know why your old white ass was fired.......BWAAAAAAAA!!!!!
James keeps referring to independent actions. But when the college facilitates those actions, they are no longer independent and the college is no longer arms length.
But when the college facilitates those actions, they are no longer independent and the college is no longer arms length.
Wow...very impressive bit of bullshit from our trump slurper ,,,,,,a very important case since you could rationalize trump encouraging people to beat others up in his name.....he should be liable....BWAAAAAAAAA!!!!
I myself experienced a situation where university students took things into their own hands and disobeyed local town laws during the Vietnam War protests
Well James...
In your experience, did school faculty attend the rallies with bull horns and instruct the students what to do? Did the school endorse the rally, allow fliers to printed with School equipment? Were the events all but school sponsored? Did the school in your experience cancel contracts? Did the school tell private businesses to contact the school (rather than authorities) if one of their students commited a crime so they could handle it themselves?
Lastly, was the protests of Vietnam specific attacks on individuals that included slanderous and libelous print and speech?
Again, I suggest you go back and read up on what actually happened, before you criticize the good people of a Midwestern college town who served on the jury.
it's funny every leftie here said W was personally responsible for Abu Gharaib.
Pedo Jane had to run off to hos safe space.
Great Lakes Reveal a Fatal Flaw in Climate Change ‘Science’
Lake Erie and Lake Superior — two of the five that make up the Great Lakes — broke records for water levels this May. Lakes Michigan and Huron could follow suit.
Naturally, climate change is getting the blame. “We are undoubtedly observing the effects of a warming climate in the Great Lakes,” says Richard Rood, a University of Michigan climate scientist.
But just a few years ago, climate scientists were insisting that a warming climate would cause water levels to decline.
In 2008, Science Daily reported on a study that attributed the decline in Great Lakes water levels to global warming. The researchers who conducted the study said that the drop “raised concern because the declines are consistent with many climate change predictions.”
In 2009, Columbia University’s Earth Institute informed us that “most climate models suggest that we may see declines in lake levels over the next 100 years; one suggests that we may see declines of up to 8.2 feet.”
In 2011, the Union of Concern Scientists said that “scientists expect water levels in the Great Lakes to drop in both summer and winter, with the greatest declines occurring in Lakes Huron and Michigan.”
In 2013, the Natural Resources Defense Council said that “it’s no secret that, partially due to climate change, the water levels in the Great Lakes are getting very low.”
That same year, Think Progress reported that “Several different climate models for the Great Lakes region all predict that lake levels will decline over the next century.”
Since the Great Lakes account for 21% of the world’s surface fresh water, these stories were all wrapped in doom-and-gloom scenarios about the impact on drinking water, shipping, recreation, and so on.
The very next year, however, water levels started rising.
So what are scientists saying now? Simple. They’re now claiming that the fall and rise of Great Lakes’ water levels are due to climate change.
It's like magic, climate change can do anything
What is almost forgotten here is this whole incident stemmed from students who were stealing wine and then physically assaulted the store employee.
Just can't get enough of that free stuff...
No wine no peace.
Here is the part of the police report that will likely become the central point of discussion from the witness stand:
“Allyn stated once they were across the street from the store, he again attempted to detain [the Oberlin male student] Aladin but again Aladin became violent knocking Allyn to the ground and began punching Allyn again. Allyn stated once he was on the ground the two females also began punching and kicking Allyn in the head, face and body. Allyn stated at one point, Aladin stated, “I’m going to kill you.” Allyn stated the next thing he knew officers were on scene and pulling the individuals off of him. Allyn had several abrasions and minor injuries including what appeared to be a swollen lip, abrasions to his arms and wrists and a small cut on his neck.”
One of the first Oberlin police officers arriving at the scene, Victor Ortiz, backed up that report in testimony last week. He told the jury that “When we got there, we saw two young ladies standing over [Allyn D. Gibson] and throwing haymakers at him. The two women would stand over him and kick him, and then crouch down and throw punches. As we got closer, we could see him on his back, with the male [shoplifter] on top of him and punching him.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/05/gibsons-bakery-v-oberlin-college-trial-its-make-or-break-week/
So what are scientists saying now? Simple. They’re now claiming that the fall and rise of Great Lakes’ water levels are due to climate change.
It's like magic, climate change can do anything
It's almost like climate change is God.
EXCLUSIVE: Oberlin College insurer likely to reject coverage for Gibson Bakery $11 million verdict
lots of good stuff at this site as rrb pointed out
And while the college is not responsible for the independent actions of its students the college in fact inserted themselves into this whole issue.
Colleges are not above the law.
Great verdict.
https://legalinsurrection.com/
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/06/exclusive-oberlin-college-insurer-likely-to-reject-coverage-for-gibson-bakery-11-million-verdict/
Colleges are not above the law.
You mean like trump??? Did you actually read what thea article said???? Obviously not......BWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Not that it matters....that college if held to pay....will probably go under.....which in and by itself is rather sad.....too bad that baker who refuses to bake does not have the same fate with his discrimination of gays......but....you and scotty hate gays which makes it okay....
And none of you slippers have a thing to say of this criminal enterprise that masquerades as a safety group but only lobbies for the enrichment of its board members......chirp chirp chirp....
olis in April. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News)
A former pro football player who serves on the National Rifle Association board was paid $400,000 by the group in recent years for public outreach and firearms training. Another board member, a writer in New Mexico, collected more than $28,000 for articles in NRA publications. Yet another board member sold ammunition from his private company to the NRA for an undisclosed sum.
The NRA, which has been rocked by allegations of exorbitant spending by top executives, also directed money in recent years that went to board members — the very people tasked with overseeing the organization’s finances.
In all, 18 members of the NRA’s 76-member board, who are not paid as directors, collected money from the group during the past three years, according to tax filings, state charitable reports and NRA correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post.
Not that it matters....that college if held to pay....will probably go under.....which in and by itself is rather sad.
The college (like most private liberal arts colleges that push politics over learning) has been struggling with admission, especially with anyone other than rich white kids.
That being said, perhaps they can call on the rich parents of all the rich students to chip in and help pay for it...
But at the end of the day, Denny...
The college tried to put the bakery out of business because they refused to drop charges against their students.
When the cop arrived at the scene, he testified that one of the students was on top of the owner punching down, while the other two were kicking and punching from either side. You don't get away with that because you go to a rich private college.
Or is that your argument? That because they were rich and went to a rich school, that beating up a small business owner is acceptable... and that the only thing that is unacceptable is pressing charges?
You reap what you sow, or so they say.
"It's like magic, climate change can do anything
It's almost like climate change is God." CS
I trust my God over the Lefist GOD of humans suck.
Biden continues to run Hillary's Campaign.
An Ohio jury ordered Oberlin College to pay $11.2 million in compensatory damages to a family bakery smeared by the university as racist.
he college (like most private liberal arts colleges that push politics over learning)
Just like the goat fucker, Lil Scotty.....I call that mostly bullshit.....and another sign of a sick mind......Idiot!!!!
Or is that your argument?
There is no argument for abject stupidity....After reading the case and evidence, I do believe the libel will be turned and this will go the way of most libel suits...and will soon be forgotten like the trash it is....!!!!
lo iq "anonymous" said
There is no argument for abject stupidity....After reading the case and evidence, I do believe the libel will be turned and this will go the way of most libel suits...and will soon be forgotten like the trash it is....!!!!
When lo iq speaks, people laugh. Well we shall see tomorrow how lo iq's "reading of the case and evidence" plays out.
I suspect it will be another belly laugh, though I haven't read the case and evidence.
ROFLMFAO !!!
After reading more about the Oberlin situation, it is indeed a far different set of circumstances than what I experienced many years ago.
It would indeed seem that, all things considered, the college administration acted unwisely.
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