Meat Processor's Lawsuit Allowed To Continue

Meat Processor's Lawsuit Allowed To Continue

In an interesting turn of events, a South Dakota judge has said she will not be dismissing the defamation lawsuit brought by Beef Products Incorporated against ABC News over the networks continual reporting of its “lean finely textured beef” product as “pink slime” in 2012. ABC is being sued for 1.2 billion dollars by BPI, who claims that ABC harmed its reputation and cost it millions of dollars in sales by the network’s mischaracterization of the lean beef product. ABC tried hard to have the case dismissed, arguing that it never said BPI’s “lean finely textured beef” product was unsafe. Circuit Court Judge Cheryle Gering, while not stating that she felt defamation actually occurred, obviously felt that the context of some of ABC’s statements in their 2012 reports justified allowing BPI’s case against ABC to continue. Even though USDA and industry experts said the meat product was safe, some retailers stopped selling ground beef that contained the product after the ABC reports. And BPI closed three of its four plants following the media coverage - putting nearly half of its workforce on the unemployment line.
 
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