Posted on 06/11/2019 3:37:34 PM PDT by jeannineinsd
Attorneys for Oberlin College and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo moved for a mistrial June 11 in a libel suit brought against them by Gibsons Food Mart and Bakery.
On June 7, a Lorain County Common Pleas Court jury awarded the plaintiffs $11 million.
The jury was scheduled to hear the punitive portion of the trial, but attorneys for Oberlin College produced five motions to the court moments before they were to return to the courtroom.
Because of this, Common Pleas Judge John R. Miraldi called a recess while he reviewed the motions and released the jury for the day.
In making his oral motion asking for the mistrial, Ronald D. Holman II claimed the case could not go forward because Miraldi did not require the jurors to break down their June 7 rulings on compensatory damage by each claim.
This same jury has ruled the College and Raimondo committed libel against David R. Gibson, his father, Allyn W. Gibson, and their business, Gibson Bros. Inc., which owns Gibson's Food Mart and Bakery.
They also found Oberlin College had inflicted intentional emotion distress again David and Allyn Gibson and that Raimondo interfered with the business relationship between Gibson Bros. Inc. and the College.
The jury awarded $5.8 million in compensatory damages to David Gibson, $3 million to Allyn Gibson and $2,274,500 to Gibson Bros. Inc., which operates the bakery.
Holman argued the lack of a breakdown of how much money was based on which claim would make it impossible for Miraldi to instruct the jury on how much money they could award in punitive damages.
Miraldi did not rule on the motion from the bench. The trial is scheduled to continue at 10 a.m. June 12.
(Excerpt) Read more at morningjournal.com ...
They’re probably willing to spend $40,000,000 to challenge this and put the family out of business.
I bet they offer the Gibsons a generous amount to sell the store, seal the details of the settlement, and turn the property into an indigenous peoples cultural enrichment center, or some such.
They absolutely can. But that order is subject to appeal.
WOW!!!
Nah — that’s trial. Right now, they’re at the “oh shit we may be screwed” phase.
Democrat thugs.
Yes, a judge can. It's called "Judgment notwithstanding the verdict" or "JNOV" for short. It can only be done if the jury has clearly gone haywire, however. This jury verdict for $11m in damages is clearly not a jury gone haywire. If the jury awarded another billion for punitive damages that would certainly provide a good argument for JNOV, though in this case I would certainly applaud such an award.
It’s the liberal way - keep going til you get the answer you want.
Wymyns college.
Nuf said right there.
Oberlin is guilty of being a leftist craphole, just as Antioch was, Wellesley, Sarah Lawrence, etc. Check their activities and Marxist leaders/professors since the 1960’s and you’ll see what I mean.
Ohio.
John Boehner and Lena Dunham Country.
Since the jury is still impaneled it seems as though this would be a reversible error. If the judge decides there was an error on his part.
Yes, Oberlin is one of the true Cathedrals of the American Left. See what they do.
Hopefully a big enough blip to teach them a lesson.
“Im no lawyer but been involved in a few cases over the years. Maybe it varies by states but this question of breaking down the damages should have been objected to when they wrote the jury instructions.”
The judge will not be happy with the defense tactics. He will sting them.
Pretty sure the guys there get vagina cards.
“Holman argued the lack of a breakdown of how much money was based on which claim would make it impossible for Miraldi to instruct the jury on how much money they could award in punitive damages.”
If such a breakdown is actually required, Miraldi could easily cure the problem by instructing the jury to first write out a breakdown of the compensatory damages by claim, then proceed to consider the punitive damages. D’oh!
They didnt review the verdict form prior to giving it over to tthe jury?
That wojld have been the time to.object.
They seem to don’t they.
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