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Judge rejects new trial in Gibson's case; documents detail settlement attempts
 [CHRONICLET] A judge on Tuesday denied Oberlin College a new trial to once again defend itself in the case brought by the Gibson family and Gibson's Bakery over the college's behavior during student protests nearly three years ago.Lorain County Common Pleas Judge John Miraldi rejected not only a new trial, but also a request by the Gibsons that he award an additional $105,000 in interest on top of the already-awarded damages, according to court documents. According to Miraldi's ruling, Ohio law allows the trial court to grant a new trial when one of the parties ‐ the Gibsons ‐ has been awarded "excessive or inadequate damages" given "under the influence of passion or prejudice." That's not the case here, Miraldi found. In his ruling, he stated that the damages awarded the Gibsons were "not manifestly excessive" nor "influenced by passion or prejudice." In a one-page ruling, Miraldi rejected Oberlin College's motion for "judgment notwithstanding the jury's verdict," which would have overturned the jury's verdict. He also rejected the Gibsons' request for additional interest on top of the damages already awarded, finding that Oberlin College did not act in bad faith during settlement negotiations that took place between January and June. A jury awarded the Gibsons more than $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages after a six-week trial that ended in June. Miraldi reduced that amount to $25 million due to caps on damages in Ohio law and later awarded the Gibsons more than $6.5 million in attorney fees. Posted by: Fred 2019-09-12 |
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