It took years, but it looks like the case of a small-town grocery store against Oberlin College is over.
The case dates back to 2016 when a family member of the namesake Gibson’s Bakery and grocery store chased down and tackled a suspected shoplifter who was a student at the college.
The incident prompted a series of protests and boycotts alleging the store was racially profiling the students involved in the incident because they were Black.
Three students ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the theft and subsequent scuffle.
Gibson’s sued the college a year later, arguing it fanned the baseless racial flames and some of its staff even encouraged the protests. The college also ordered its suppliers to not purchase goods from the store that traces its history back to 1885.
Two Canton-area law firms
Stark County-based firms Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty and Plakas Mannos filed a lawsuit a year later on behalf of the Gibson family, which was awarded a jaw-dropping $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages from a Lorain County jury.
The case has been kicked around on appeals including the 9th District Court of Appeals in