Will I Ever See the $36 Million Oberlin College Owes Me?
During the months leading up to the trial, my husband receded from my view. We didn t really talk like we used to, and we took to co-existing in our home. He was so worried about the trial, and he didn t want to worry me. I had a lot on my plate, too. My mother, who was suffering from dementia, was living with us. One of our bakers, his wife (an Oberlin graduate), and their two-year-old had moved into our living room because his wife was dying of ALS. After my father-in-law got badly injured, he moved in with us, too.
To add onto everything else, six months before the trial began, my husband David was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. He was still working from seven in the morning to eleven at night, but the cancer treatments were brutal. Once the trial started, David decided to pause the treatments so he could be as strong as possible in court. It was important to him that the jury not find out that he was sick. He wanted the case to be decided on the basis of the facts alone.
When the jury found in our favor they ruled that we were owed $44 million in damages (which was later reduced to $31 million) relief washed over me. I thought we d finally be able to move past this and get back to work.
But after the verdict was handed down, David and I left Oberlin to seek treatment for his cancer at bigger hospitals in the South and in New York. We found out that the cancer had spread during the trial, and that we had no recourse. Before he died in 2019, David asked me to keep the store going. Just keep the doors open, no matter what, he said. He gave his life for the store, and I promised him that I would do everything I could to honor his final wish.
I still haven t seen a penny from the school. In 2019, Oberlin appealed to have the jury verdict overturned. Ohio s Ninth District Court of Appeals rejected Oberlin s claims and upheld the jury s verdict. But in May of 2022, Oberlin appealed again to the Ohio Supreme Court to try to avoid the jury s decision. Thankfully, earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court denied Oberlin s appeal and ruled that the school must pay us $36 million. But even with this most recent ruling, the college, which has about a billion dollars worth of assets at its disposal, still refuses to pay.
Oberlin has to pay, obviously. Let’s stay on top of this story.