Over this weekend we covered how an Ohio jury ruled last Friday that the uber-left wing Oberlin College must pay a local bakery at least $11 million in compensatory damages. The massive fine came after the jury determined college administrators defamed Gibson's Bakery by accusing the century-old establishment of racial discrimination and encouraging students to boycott the business after three black students were accused of shoplifting. Students said the accusation was part of a larger pattern of racial discrimination and college administrators sent an email to the student body offering support. The only problem with these claims was that the three black suspects admitted in court to shoplifting. Also, the Gibson Bakery employee who tackled them and called authorities was black himself. In other words, the entire thing was a racial hoax spurned by progressives' ignorance in their self-righteous and often misguided crusade of rooting out perceived injustice. Gibson's Bakery sued and the court of law, where actual justice occurs, ruled that they had been defamed by Oberlin College.
Well, Legal Insurrection reports that today in court, a secondary jury added $22 million in punitive damages for the wrongdoings.
via Legal Insurrection:
Daniel McGraw, our reporter in the courtroom, reports that in addition to the $11.2 million compensatory damages awarded last Friday, the jury awarded a total of $33 million in punitive damages, which will probably be reduced by the court to $22 million because of the state law cap at twice compensatory (it’s not an absolute cap, but probably will apply here). That brings the total damages to $33 million. We will have the breakdown soon. The jury also awarded attorney’s fees, to be determined by the judge.
In arguments, Gibson's attorney told the jury that the country was watching "because the country agrees that what happened to the Gibsons should not happen to anyone, but could happen to everyone.”
"Colleges are watching us and you. Because they all know the way colleges are run will be affected, and by your decisions, they will be," he added.
The attorneys for Oberlin, however, argued that the ruling would harm Oberlin students. "This will impact people who had nothing to do with the protest …, it also means less students who are not able to afford a college education will be able to do so," the attorneys argued.
Of course, many on Twitter argued the college could simply cut administrator, faculty, and staff salaries before harming students.