Oberlin College hit with $11M judgement in libel/defamation lawsuit

[Steel Shank 9440]

Anybody other than me ever pull any Oberlin tail?

[Beau Vine 54881]

Quote

The damage was worse than most realize. On a walk through campus several weekends ago, this reporter talked to about 20 students at random on campus, and every one of them said they would never shop at Gibson’s because the business and family are racist. When shown the police reports and the fact that the three shoplifters plead guilty and claimed “no racial profiling” was involved, most of the students I spoke with said, “Cops lie.”

Critical thinking skills, yo!

[WBT 20750]

cissexist heteropatriarchy, serious business

[Deej 77182]

19 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

Worst part is, this is not limited to a single school. There is a goodly amount of these types of institutions and what's worse there is a good amount of this insanity at damn near every college. 

It's a real problem. I've no clue how it will be addressed en mass, but it's going to cause a lot of friction.

That's what happens when your parents never give you a reality check.

[Beau Vine 54881]

1 hour ago, BurntEyes said:

Worst part is, this is not limited to a single school. There is a goodly amount of these types of institutions and what's worse there is a good amount of this insanity at damn near every college. 

It's a real problem. I've no clue how it will be addressed en mass, but it's going to cause a lot of friction.

Eh, it's mainly isolated to liberal arts programs,  private universities (tuition payments are more vital), in blue states (more welcoming culture for this stuff).  

I'd be shocked if something anywhere close to this happened at a public university in Texas.

when we see engineering or business faculty getting embroiled in this kind of stuff, then we can panic.  

[MadTrapper 153]

Eh, it's mainly isolated to liberal arts programs,  private universities (tuition payments are more vital), in blue states (more welcoming culture for this stuff).   I'd be shocked if something anywhere close to this happened at a public university in Texas.

when we see engineering or business faculty getting embroiled in this kind of stuff, then we can panic.  

 

I agree. I have the impression that things like this happen less often and/or with less intensity at schools where you have ample options to major in something that provides marketable skills.

 

 

 

 

[TwiceHorn 31686]

1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

Critical thinking skills, yo!

They lost a ton of business according to an article I read.  Cut their employees by 2/3, lost a ton of revenue.

[ajax 2633]

23 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

when we see engineering or business faculty getting embroiled in this kind of stuff, then we can panic. 

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10257

Quote

The leader of Purdue University’s School of Engineering Education recently declared that academic “rigor” reinforces “white male heterosexual privilege.”

Donna Riley, who previously taught engineering at Smith College for 13 years, published an article in the most recent issue of the journal Engineering Education, arguing that academic rigor is a “dirty deed” that upholds “white male heterosexual privilege.”

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

[ChickenSandwich 9856]

21 minutes ago, ajax said:

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10257

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

Let’s hope Donna’s not building bridges 

[MadTrapper 153]

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

I thought that there no way this is real. I was wrong.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

[Beau Vine 54881]

30 minutes ago, ajax said:

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10257

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

This would make my daughter burn with rage.  

WTF is Purdue hiring someone from Smith College for anyways?  Smith College has an engineering program?

 

Edit: Wait a minute, WTF is the "School of Engineering Education"?

Edited June 17, 2019 by Beau Vine

[MadTrapper 153]

This would make my daughter burn with rage.  
WTF is Purdue hiring someone from Smith College for anyways?  Smith College has an engineering program?
 
Edit: Wait a minute, WTF is the "School of Engineering Education"?

I sent a connection request on LinkedIn. I hope she accepts! Engineering Education. Those who can't engineer, direct the NSF apparently.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

2 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Critical thinking skills, yo!

No, they just post on the police threads here. 

[workswithseed 2140]

5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Eh, it's mainly isolated to liberal arts programs,  private universities (tuition payments are more vital), in blue states (more welcoming culture for this stuff).  

I'd be shocked if something anywhere close to this happened at a public university in Texas.

when we see engineering or business faculty getting embroiled in this kind of stuff, then we can panic.  

If you ever watched the "Change My Mind" videos from Steven Crowder it shows the good will of most student bodies of mostly Texas schools, and some at UT. Like him or hate him it does show what most students are like.

Edited June 17, 2019 by workswithseed

[deadshank 24653]

9 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

Anybody other than me ever pull any Oberlin tail?

Gooseneck or bumper pull?

[Parliament 14377]

18 hours ago, Laxtonto said:

Great twitter thread regarding the court transcripts 

 

That whole thread is worth the read.

Is it really possible for these people to be so insular?

[Armybrat 41005]

8 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Eh, it's mainly isolated to liberal arts programs,  private universities (tuition payments are more vital), in blue states (more welcoming culture for this stuff).  

I'd be shocked if something anywhere close to this happened at a public university in Texas.

when we see engineering or business faculty getting embroiled in this kind of stuff, then we can panic.  

But the Oberlin types in question are the ones who wind up passing on their “values”  to American youth. We see plenty of the same broad paintbrush attitudes here in the cop fuckup threads. There is no debating with those people.

[Armybrat 41005]

11 minutes ago, Parliament said:

That whole thread is worth the read.

Is it really possible for these people to be so insular?

Yes. They are the next generation of truthers.

[Armybrat 41005]

8 hours ago, ajax said:

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10257

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

Jesus, this country is really screwed with people like her given any kind of power position. She is what she rails against.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Armybrat

[phdhorn 6224]

10 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

Anybody other than me ever pull any Oberlin tail?

Oberlin chicks are cheese-infested skanks compared to Denison babes.  Landed me one of them.  Oh yeah!

[Bigbend1812 12962]

Buncha white heterosexual devils up in here.

[Asithappens 974]

22 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Oberlin chicks are cheese-infested skanks compared to Denison babes.  Landed me one of them.  Oh yeah!

Damn.

Almost sounds like something an HPV vaccine might help with. 

[alincoln 2385]

Oberlin takes great pride in being the craziest of the crazy.

[Beau Vine 54881]

3 hours ago, workswithseed said:

If you ever watched the "Change My Mind" videos from Steven Crowder it shows the good will of most student bodies of mostly Texas schools, and some at UT. Like him or hate him it does show what most students are like.

Yeah, I get pissed off at my students frequently for acting lazy and brainless, but I could count on one hand the number of them over the last 20 years that I just flat-out didn't like as people.   

[Parliament 14377]

Oberlin chicks are cheese-infested skanks compared to Denison babes.  Landed me one of them.  Oh yeah!

.

[TwiceHorn 31686]

8 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

This would make my daughter burn with rage.  

WTF is Purdue hiring someone from Smith College for anyways?  Smith College has an engineering program?

  

Edit: Wait a minute, WTF is the "School of Engineering Education"?

Great minds. I'm going to guess that this was a pc hire by Purdue.

[phdhorn 6224]

59 minutes ago, Asithappens said:

Damn.

Almost sounds like something an HPV vaccine might help with. 

No, the HPV doesn't do much for yeast infections.

But hey, there's a thread about it that recently turned to shit because of a few posters.  You might take it over there, I know they'd really enjoy that discussion!

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

4 hours ago, workswithseed said:

If you ever watched the "Change My Mind" videos from Steven Crowder it shows the good will of most student bodies of mostly Texas schools, and some at UT. Like him or hate him it does show what most students are like.

I braced myself when I watched the recent one on the UT campus, hoping for the best (civil discourse) from the current crop of students. Other than a couple of inevitable crazies, it went really well, even better than his TCU and SMU episodes. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

10 hours ago, ajax said:

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10257

Maybe it's just a matter of time.

I think the University of Minny beat them to the punch with their civil engineering courses on highway bridge design. 

[jimmyjazz 46479]

2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

But the Oberlin types in question are the ones who wind up passing on their “values”  to American youth. 

What?  There are no conservative professors who pass on their "values" to American youth?  Did I miss the news that Liberty, Baylor, Oral Roberts, Texas A&M, BYU, Bob Jones, Harding, Pepperdine, and probably a hundred other schools closed their doors?

I won't dispute that the numbers skew left -- you might ask yourself why.  It's probably not the answer you want to hear.

[Armybrat 41005]

Oh,  I have a pretty good idea why, but not that any of the CR crowd would agree.

[TwiceHorn 31686]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

What?  There are no conservative professors who pass on their "values" to American youth?  Did I miss the news that Liberty, Baylor, Oral Roberts, Texas A&M, BYU, Bob Jones, Harding, Pepperdine, and probably a hundred other schools closed their doors?

I won't dispute that the numbers skew left -- you might ask yourself why.  It's probably not the answer you want to hear.

I think saying that academia leans left because it's smarter or more educated is a bit facile.  There are other factors at play, as well, such as idealism, being bound to theory rather than practical application, etc.  

However, the being smarter and better educated goes a long way toward immunizing them from the idiotic sound bites that have permeated politics for a while now and with the advent of twatter, completely dominate.

[RDCanecutter 26553]

17 hours ago, phdhorn said:

What about if they have any good deals on leftover cakes for same sex couples?

This presupposes acceptance of Gibsons' binary world view that I/We/TheAncestresses reject.

Unless it's a big cake.

[RDCanecutter 26553]

3 hours ago, alincoln said:

Oberlin takes great pride in being the craziest of the crazy.

Long game, it might pay off for them. Sure, they'll pay a sop to the occasional bakery, but when the universities start drying up like the monasteries did within the past two centuries, being the craziest of the crazy will help them survive, the same way the Marines make their recruitment levels by appealing to the need to Kill the Bastards, while the other branches flail around trying to sell themselves as vocational programs.

Gotta be pure at what you do.

[alincoln 2385]

It's an identity, which is of the utmost importance in their world.

[ajax 2633]

I actually know a lot of Oberlin grads, all music majors. They're all fantastic musicians. They are super sweet and nice but crazy liberal. I love them as friends but we don't talk politics. A few of the girls are very cute, but not marriage material.

[Brisketexan 105586]

My daughter got recruited heavily by Oberlin.  This is a girl who recently told me "there's no way in my lifetime I'll ever vote for a Republican."  When I asked her a coupla years ago if she was considering Oberlin, she said "nope, everyone I know who went there is SUPER liberal, and a pain in the ass to be around."

Not commenting on the judgment here -- seems a stretch to hold the institution specifically liable (the individuals involved, absolutely).  I'd need to see specific evidence and briefing, but at first glance, I wouldn't be shocked to see that part of it overturned on appeal.  Will be interesting to read and watch at some point.

[Beau Vine 54881]

Quote

There will be post-trial motions to set aside the jury verdict and/or reduce the dollar amounts, and then appeals. So while the Gibson family won a major victory, it is not over.

 

An obvious question, and one a lot of people have been asking, is whether the college has liability insurance to cover the verdict.

Based on court filings obtained by Legal Insurrection Foundation, it appears that the insurer, Lexington Insurance Company, is likely to disclaim coverage for the intentional torts which gave rise to the verdict.

The likelihood of refusal to cover the verdict was revealed in a May 1, 2019, Motion to Intervene (pdf.)(full embed at bottom of post) filed by Lexington Insurance Company.

The purpose of the motion, according to Lexington, was “for the limited purpose of submitting interrogatories to the jury in order to determine facts at issue in this action that would impact coverage under its policy.”

Here is an excerpt from Lexington’s motion setting forth the nature of the insurance coverage (emphasis added):

Lexington issued a Commercial Umbrella Liability policy that potentially provides coverage to defendants Oberlin College aka Oberlin College and Conservatory (“Oberlin”) and Meredith Raimondo for certain damages in this action. Lexington seeks intervention in this action for the limited purpose of submitting interrogatories to the jury in order to determine facts at issue in this action that would impact coverage under its policy.

The Lexington policy does not provide coverage for “bodily injury” or “property damage” intentionally caused by defendants. While the Lexington policy potentially provides coverage in relation to “personal and advertising injury,” defined to include defamation and/or disparagement in certain circumstances, the Lexington policy excludes any such coverage if “personal and advertising injury” is caused “with the knowledge that the act would violate the rights of another … ,” or if the insured published material it knew to be false. Further, the Lexington policy provides coverage for punitive damages insurable by law, but only where the corresponding award of compensatory damages is also covered by the Lexington policy. In this action, plaintiffs Gibson Bros., Inc., Allyn Gibson, and David Gibson allege that defendants Oberlin and Ms. Raimondo published material that falsely characterized the bakery owned by plaintiffs (“Gibson’s”) as being a racist establishment. While such allegations potentially implicate “personal and advertising injury,” plaintiffs also alleged that the statements were published with malice, were intended to injure plaintiffs’ business reputation, and were part of a purported campaign to harm plaintiffs. If it is established that the defendants knew the alleged statements were false, or if the defendants knew their alleged acts would violate plaintiffs’ rights, the Lexington policy would exclude coverage for any resultant damage. Thus, Lexington seeks to intervene in order to submit jury interrogatories to determine the extent of the defendants’ knowledge in relation to the alleged publications.

Further, the Lexington policy provides coverage for punitive damages only when the punitive damages are assessed relative to covered compensatory damages. Here, plaintiffs seek punitive damages for the claims of libel, tortious interference with contract, tortious interference with business, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and trespass. Only the libel claim is potentially embraced by the Lexington policy. Thus, Lexington seeks to intervene in order to submit jury interrogatories and instructions to determine what punitive damages, if any, correspond to each cause of action.

The motion then sets forth Lexington’s inability to gain cooperation as to jury interrogatories from the college:

In particular, Lexington affirmatively requested on several occasions that the defendants submit jury interrogatories and instructions as proposed through this motion. Lexington also inquired as to when proposed jury interrogatories and instructions were due, and was informed on April 27, 2019 by defense counsel for Oberlin and Ms. Raimondo that there was currently no deadline set by the Court and that the deadline would probably be several weeks away. Lexington advised the defendants that Lexington understood the defendants would adopt Lexington’s request to submit jury interrogatories and instructions as outlined by Lexington. On April 27, 2019, the defendants responded that they would inform Lexington of their position on April 29, 2019. Defendants did not inform Lexington on April 29, 2019 as represented and, as such, Lexington is acting out of an abundance of caution in the form of this motion, as Lexington remains uncertain of defendants’ position, despite repeated communications and requests by Lexington.

The motion then sets forth the history of Lexington fighting with Oberlin College as to insurance coverage:

After tender of the lawsuit, Lexington informed the defendants that the Lexington policy did not respond to certain claims in the lawsuit. In particular, based on the claims that remain in the lawsuit, Lexington advised that the Lexington policy only potentially responds to the libel claim, . but that the Lexington policy is excess to other insurance provided through a commercial general liability policy issued by College Risk Retention Group, Inc. (“CRRG”) and an Educator’s Liability policy issued by United Educators (“UE”) in relation to the libel claim. Lexington further advised that the Lexington policy only embraces punitive damages when assessed relative to covered compensatory damages that implicate the Lexington layer of coverage. (Affidavit of Patrick Fredette (“Fredette Aff. ‘), ,r 3). In this regard, Lexington’s coverage, if any, is also excess to the UE policy not simply for any covered liability arising out of the libel claim, if any, but also any covered punitive damage award, subject to the $1 million cap in the UE policy for such damages. (Id.).

The Court rejected Lexington’s motion to intervene:

 

[Trey3216 15380]

So Oberlin May be on the hook because the insurance company is likely going to win a claim of willful negligence against the insured.  Nice.  

[SDG 3319]

Gibsons attorneys speak.      

 

 

[TwiceHorn 31686]

He's the Law Lion! https://www.lawlion.com/

Rawr.

[Chewbacca 7793]

2 hours ago, Trey3216 said:

So Oberlin May be on the hook because the insurance company is likely going to win a claim of willful negligence against the insured.  Nice.  

That's fantastic.  So now they'll sue their insurance company, lose again, and have to explain to their alums and parents, again, how it's not their fault!  Then they can ask for more money to replenish the $50mm or so the endowment will lose because of all this nonsense.

[TwiceHorn 31686]

3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

That's fantastic.  So now they'll sue their insurance company, lose again, and have to explain to their alums and parents, again, how it's not their fault!  Then they can ask for more money to replenish the $50mm or so the endowment will lose because of all this nonsense.

I might imagine that there is a coverage suit ongoing even as we speak.  Oberlin is hemorrhaging attorneys fees over this.  

Raimondo could be major fucked by this.  I don't believe this would be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Edited June 19, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[Beau Vine 54881]

BTW, I saw on another site that in 1983, USNWR's top 5 liberal arts colleges were Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, and Oberlin.  Those first 4 are #1-4 in this year's rankings; Oberlin is tied for 30th.  

[Chewbacca 7793]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

I might imagine that there is a coverage suit ongoing even as we speak.  Oberlin is hemorrhaging attorneys fees over this.  

Raimondo could be major fucked by this.  I don't believe this would be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Raimondo wasn't found personally liable for anything unless I missed it.  She should lose her job over this, but how could it affect her any further than that?

 

Oberlin has a $900 million endowment.  They have the cash, but they don't want to use it for this.

[RDCanecutter 26553]

With all these idle lawyers on here, somebody ought to write a proposal to Oberlin on behalf of the Canecutter Foundation, offering $44 million to pay their settlement. Then if they nibble and get an administrator to call me, I will use Tom Hank's voice from Ladykillers and tell them my only condition is that they erect a statue of Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard on their blissfully beautiful corner of Elysium, their Garden of Eden, to whit, their campus.

[TwiceHorn 31686]

10 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Raimondo wasn't found personally liable for anything unless I missed it.  She should lose her job over this, but how could it affect her any further than that?

 

Oberlin has a $900 million endowment.  They have the cash, but they don't want to use it for this.

The jury also found for the bakery on counts of libel against both the college and Raimondo. Raimondo was held responsible for interference of business relationships while the college was cleared.

[Chewbacca 7793]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

The jury also found for the bakery on counts of libel against both the college and Raimondo. Raimondo was held responsible for interference of business relationships while the college was cleared.

Didn't catch that, but I love it.  Fuck her.

[ChickenSandwich 9856]

43 minutes ago, SDG said:

Gibsons attorneys speak.      

 

 

He speaks a ton of truth that could be well severed in other large sectors of our society. Looking at you media 

[TexasBuckeye 43]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:37 PM, BurntEyes said:

Worst part is, this is not limited to a single school. There is a goodly amount of these types of institutions and what's worse there is a good amount of this insanity at damn near every college. 

It's a real problem. I've no clue how it will be addressed en mass, but it's going to cause a lot of friction.

Oberlin isn't even the worst. Antioch College (also in Ohio) was closed due to finances, but has reopened recently. Ultra liberal. Just check out their website to get an idea of it: https://antiochcollege.edu/