Appeals court upholds $25M judgment against Oberlin College

By MARK GILLISPIE
Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio appeals court has upheld a $25 million judgment against Oberlin College awarded to a local business that successfully claimed it was libeled by the school in the aftermath of a shoplifting incident. The 9th District Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected all of the historic liberal arts college’s arguments and upheld a $6.2 million payment in attorney fees. Oberlin students and staff protested outside Gibson’s Bakery and Food Mart after the shoplifting incident in November 2016. A jury in June 2019 awarded store owners Allyn Gibson and his son, David Gibson, $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages. A judge later reduced the award to $25 million.