Owner of Closed Boise Coffee Shop Wins $4 Million in Lawsuit Over University’s Reaction to Her Support for Police

A Boise jury delivered a unanimous verdict late Friday evening in favor of the owner of the now-closed Big City Coffee for her lawsuit alleging two top Boise State University administrators violated her First Amendment rights.

After a nine-day jury trial, Fendley came out on top over Alicia Estey, Boise State’s chief financial and operating officer and vice president for finance and operations, and Boise State President Marlene Tromp’s former chief of staff and former Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Leslie Webb in her lawsuit alleging the pair removed Fendley and her business from campus over her support of law enforcement in the fall of 2020, Boise Dev reports.

The jury awarded Fendley a total of $3 million in damages for business losses, mental and emotional distress, personal humiliation and lost reputation. The jury also ruled Webb, now a University of Montana administrator, was liable for another $1 million in punitive damages.

The ruling is the latest in a case that first began in 2021 when Big City Coffee filed a $10 million tort claim  against the university and several administrators. Fendley alleged that having to vacate her on-campus business following student upheaval in the wake of George Floyd’s death violated the Idaho Consumer Protection Act and her constitutional rights. Students had questioned the coffee shop’s enthusiastic support of the Thin Blue Line and police officers at its downtown location and called for the closure of its Albertsons Library location.

This decision came after nine days of witness testimony and evidence over the course of three weeks, with Estey, Webb, Associate Vice President for Campus Services Nicole Nimmons, BSU President Marlene Tromp, Fendley’s former fiancé and retired BPD Sergeant Kevin Holtry and others took the stand for questioning from both sides. The jury also reviewed evidence related to concerns from a group of students about the coffee shop, how university officials reacted and two audio recordings of meetings between Fendley and university officials.