Legal reports claim that Big City Coffee shut down its Boise State University venue following a backlash and retaliation by school administrators.
The administrators of Boise State University owe a coffee shop a $4 million judgment debt following the unanimous decision of a jury that the school officials violated the women’s First Amendment rights in conflict over the support of law enforcement.
In a ruling on September 13, the court awarded Sarah Fendley, the owner of Big City Coffee, $3 million for emotional distress, reputational damage, mental health issues, and lost businesses. She was also awarded an additional $1 million in punitive damages from the institution’s former vice president of student affairs.
According to local news, Fendley originally sued the school for $10 million after she shut her campus shop in October 2020, claiming that the administrator colluded to react against her expressing pro-police views on social media.
The administrators’ attorney denied any retaliation and accused the shop owner, Fendley, of trying to get the university to violate student’sstudents’ freedom of speech.
Big City Coffee launched an on-campus shop in September 2020, on the resoles of the national police reform protests that followed George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis. According to the lawsuit, Fendley’s support for law enforcement, she displayed a thin blue line sticker next to the door of the store’s downtown Boise location, instantly sparked anger among student activists.
After the shop was opened, one student posted on Snapchat, “I hope y’all don’t go there if you truly support your bipoc peers and other students, staff, and faculty.” BIPOC is a short form of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
A previous report from Idaho Stateman revealed a screenshot of a post shared with Fendley, who replied with her own public Instagram and Facebook posts explaining her support for the police. Back then, she was engaged to an ex-police officer who was paralyzed from an open fire with a fugitive.
According to the suit, the university officials hastily called a meeting with Fendley to express concerns about the social media “firestorm” her post created. According to the Stateman, the defendant, Alicia Estey, secretly recorded the meeting; however, the recording was stopped before the meeting ended, and both sides disputed the outcome.
Fendley said the institution ended her contract due to her support for the police, a decision her attorney clearly stated violated her free speech rights. Prior to the meeting, administrators were working on a press release about the business leaving campus. Michael Roe, Fendley’s lawyer, stated, making it vivid that they had a single outcome in mind.
Roe told the media, “Senior administration at BSU caved to a very small number of student activists.” Big City’s campus shops were shut down four days after the meeting.
However, Estey, who was the last witness before the closing argument, told jurors, “We didn’t retaliate against [Fendley] at all.”
According to a KTVB report, Estey stated: “She made a choice to leave, which was her choice to make, there was no retaliation.”
The attorney for Boise State, Keely Duke, claimed that Fendley was actually the one demanding speech suppression. Fendley wanted officials to use the school rules to punish the students for expressing views she disagreed with. He further added that the school officials remained neutral throughout the conflict.
Duke stated in court that “The First Amendment protects everyone. “It protects Fendley’s right to express her support for the thin blue line. It also supports, though, anyone’s right not to support Big City Coffee.”
Jurors deliberated for over three hours before unanimously ruling in favour of Fendley.
According to sources, the school administration plans to appeal for a verdict to Idaho Supreme Court.
