legal fees. Oberlin released a statement disagreeing with the outcome, asserting it not only did not defame the bakery, but also attempted to repair the damage caused by the protests. "Colleges cannot be held liable for the independent actions of their students. Institutions of higher education are obligated to protect freedom of speech on their campuses and respect their students' decision to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights." Attorney Lee Plakas representing the Gibson family in the trial responded "The recent efforts of Oberlin College and President Ambar to reframe this as a First Amendment issue, while undermining the jury's decision, should be incredibly concerning to us all. Oberlin College was never on trial for the free speech of its students. Instead, the jury unanimously determined that Oberlin College libeled the Gibsons." Oberlin College president Carmen Twillie Ambar told CBSN, "The jury found those statements in the flyer, and in the Senate Resolution, were statements that they thought were libelous. What we've been saying is we didn't write those statements... The college didn't construct the flyer, the college didn't condone the flyer, it didn't write the Student Senate resolution... There was one administrator there who was representing the institution, and the student handbook requires her to be there... There may have been some professors who were there operating in their own individual capacity, but they weren't representing the institution." The jury later awarded the plaintiffs $33 million in punitive damages, for a total award of $44 million. At the end of the month, Judge John Miraldi reduced the total award to $25 million because state law limits punitive damages. In July 2019, the court ordered Oberlin to pay an additional $6.5 million as reimbursement for Gibson's attorney fees and other legal expenses. Appeals On October 8, 2019, the college appealed the case to the Ohio Ninth District Court. Days later, Gibson's Bakery filed their own appeal, asking for review of Ohio's statutory caps on monetary damages, rulings made by Judge Miraldi on motions, and the exclusion of expert witness testimony in the trial. Oberlin College filed their principal appeals brief June 5, 2020. Oral arguments by the parties were made in the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals on November 11, 2020, and made public on YouTube. On March 31, 2022, the Court overruled the appeals of both Oberlin and Gibson, upholding the jury verdict and Judge Miraldi's decisions. In