Big City Coffee’s $4 million lawsuit victory against Boise State University administrators in September has left the community with some unanswered questions. What happened in the lawsuit, and is this story actually over? Idaho Ed News senior reporter Kevin Richert joined City Cast Boise in a recent podcast episode to explain the four-year clash and why he believes this case is an “imprecise proxy fight over higher education politics.”
How the Clash Began
In 2020, Boise State was looking for a new vendor for the university library’s coffee shop. Big City Coffee raised its hand and moved into campus. But Big City only stayed for 42 days, leaving in October. Big City’s owner Sarah Fendley argued that the university forced her out because of her pro-police politics.
The Four-Year Lawsuit
Fendley sued Boise State and two university officials for $10 million, citing a violation of her First Amendment rights. Fendley claimed she was pushed out because student activists were protesting her support of the “thin blue line,” a concept that grew in momentum in 2020 during a year of heightened discourse around law enforcement and racial justice. Fendley’s fiance at the time of the lawsuit was a former police officer who was left paralyzed on the job.
Boise State’s attorneys argued there was no First Amendment violation because Fendley left voluntarily. On the podcast, Richert argues that what likely made this lawsuit a four-year-ordeal is that neither side had a “smoking gun” to present to jurors.
But after a three-week trial, a jury unanimously awarded Big City $4 million in damages — including $1 million owed personally by Leslie Webb, a former university administrator who was a liaison between student activists and Fendley.
What Happens Next?
Keely Duke, the attorney representing the Boise State officials who were sued, said they would appeal the case to the Idaho Supreme Court.
