BOISE, Idaho — A legal victory, for a well-known Boise coffee shop, as a jury awards the owners millions of dollars.
- Big City Coffee awarded $4 million in a civil lawsuit against Boise State University employees.
- The lawsuit claimed violations of First Amendment rights due to a 'Thin Blue Line' flag display.
- Jury awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
A legal victory, for a well-known Boise coffee shop, as a jury awards the owners 4 million dollars.
I'm your Boise State neighborhood reporter, Jessica Davis, on campus, getting reaction from students after a jury agreed with the shop owners that Boise State leadership forced them off campus over their show of support for police.
"It's so yummy it's one of my favorite restaurants," says Bethany Bowers, a senior at Boise State University.
Big City Coffee has a big following in Boise.
Now the longtime downtown cafe is on the receiving end of four million dollars, after a civil lawsuit in Ada County Court.
Earlier this month a judge awarded the owners 3 million dollars in compensatory damages and an additional 1 million in punitive damages in the suit against two Boise State University employees accused of violating the owner's First Amendment rights.
Back in September 2020, Big City Coffee replaced Starbucks in the university's library, becoming their second Boise location.
But they didn't stay long.
In the lawsuit - Big City owner Sarah Jo Fendley said the "thin blue line flag" on display at their downtown location led to discrimination.
She says it was to show support for law enforcement after five police officers lost their lives in Dallas Texas.
Fendley's husband was also injured in the line of duty.
The plaintiffs argued Boise State didn't address any issues with the flag up front, but court documents say university staff held meetings about the display, something Fendley says ultimately led to Big City Coffee's departure from the university in October 2020.
Current BSU students, support their freedom of expression.
"It's her store, she has a right to have out what she wants to have out, and that's a big thing about Big City, is actually supporting the police since that's her husband, you can even see it in their downtown store too," says Bethany Bowers.
The lawsuit, filed by Fendley in 2021, claimed her First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated.
The jury siding with Fendley with four million dollars at stake.
"That's a lot of money, I mean I'm sure she lost something having to leave here so I don't really know what that would mean but I guess good for her," says Jayden Boyle, senior at Boise State.
We reached out to BSU for a statement regarding the case, and they say in part quote, "We respectfully, but strongly disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal. The evidence demonstrated that we were honoring the First Amendment rights of all involved."
It continues, "We have striven to ensure that voices from all political perspectives have a place on our campus."
