| Trying to make the process the punishment, and also not to have to pay out tens of millions to the people they so badly wronged. |
[CHRONICLET] Citing errors in the six-week trial that led to a multimillion-dollar legal judgment in favor of Gibson's Bakery and the Gibson family, Oberlin College has asked a judge for a new trial to be held in the case.
More than 540 pages of legal arguments and exhibits were filed Aug. 14 by Oberlin College attorneys asking Lorain County Common Pleas Judge John Miraldi to order a new trial.
Attorneys for the Gibsons fired back with more than 125 pages of legal arguments and exhibits of their own Wednesday, asking Miraldi to strike down the college's request.
Attorneys for Oberlin College cited errors in the jury interrogatories and instructions; mistakes in the allocation of compensatory damages; failure of the court to move the trial's venue; errors in instructions on the definitions of libel and actual malice; incorrect and over-broad instructions by Miraldi; improper introduction of evidence; the awarding of "excessive" damages and a host of other issues in the 310-page filing.
They also filed a 232-page motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, alleging that the jury ordered the college not to pay for its behavior and the behavior of one college official but for "statements that Oberlin College students ‐ not Defendants ‐ made during peaceful, lawful, and constitutionally protected protests on issues of public concern."
A Lorain County jury early this summer awarded Gibson's Bakery and the Gibson family more than $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Oberlin College and Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo for libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and interference with business relationships.
At the time, it was the largest civil award for libel in Ohio history. Miraldi later reduced the award to $25 million due to caps on damages allowable under Ohio law, but tacked on additional attorney fees payable to the Gibsons and their legal counsel.
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