ELYRIA, Ohio — Oberlin College is seeking a new trial after being ordered to pay $25 million to the owners of a market who accused the Ohio school of ruining their business by encouraging protests and branding them racists after a shoplifting incident involving black students.
The Chronicle-Telegram in Elyria reports Oberlin alleges a variety of legal and procedural errors, including the court not moving the trial from Lorain County and the jury awarding "excessive damages."
The college says those errors led to "wildly excessive verdicts influenced by passion and prejudice."
The Gibsons' lawyers oppose the retrial request, calling it "baseless."
A jury this summer awarded Gibson's and its owners $44 million. A judge cut the total because of a cap on damages but added $6.5 million in attorney fees.
