A defamation lawsuit filed by Beef Products, Inc., in 2012 against ABC News, will be heard in the state court of South Dakota, a circuit court judge ruled March 27. Defamed meat product and lost profits are at the lawsuit’s core.
Defamed meat product and lost profits are at the lawsuit’s core. The circuit court judge retained a majority of the counts against the defendants in her decision, which stemmed from a hearing Dec. 17.
The lawsuit’s claims are allowed under the state’s disparagement laws regarding food. The statements ABC News made in regards to BPI’s meat product were in fact disparaging, the judge said, however, the court does not recognize if the statements are true or false.
News anchors report BPI meat product is pink slime
Back in 2012, ABC News reported on BPI’s Lean Finely Textured Beef, deeming it “pink slime,” because, as ABC states, the meat product was pink and slimy. Not only was the term pink slime itself inappropriate, but the frequency in which it was used totaled 137 times while ABC also made over 100 false statements during the smear campaign, BPI asserts. The news outlet also paired its negative reports with positive statements about the meat product’s validity regarding approval from the FDA, but followed up by discounting the FDA.
The campaign made headway with consumers, who accounted for an 80-percent loss in sales. That equates to $400 million in profit. Three out of four plants closed and over 700 jobs were lost. Beef Products, Inc., is a private family business.
Reporters named in lawsuit
Other defendants in the case are two U.S. Department of Agriculture employees, two reporters who have a history with the story and a former employee of BPI who granted interviews. Diane Sawyer, anchor for ABC World News, is another defendant. All have a deadline of April 16 to file an answer on the current counts against them. Attorneys for ABC News, say the ruling may affect the First Amendment in an uncomfortable way.
The injury lawyer argued to dismiss the claims against ABC, but the judge was guided to the decision based on a reasonable fact-finding method and concluded the plaintiffs’ claims of defamation were satisfactorily alleged based on the defendants’ public statements.