ABC News has settled its “pink slime” defamation case, according to a statement from the network news unit. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
South Dakota meat processor Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) had initially filed a $1.9 billion lawsuit against ABC News over a series of 2012 reports by its Jim Avila. BPI refers to its product as “lean finely textured beef,” though Avila repeatedly referred to it as “pink slime.”
Here’s ABC News’ Wednesday statement: “ABC has reached an amicable resolution of its dispute with the makers of ‘lean finely textured beef.’ Throughout this case, we have maintained that our reports accurately presented the facts and views of knowledgeable people about this product. Although we have concluded that continued litigation of this case is not in the Company’s interests, we remain committed to the vigorous pursuit of truth and the consumer’s right to know about the products they purchase.”
In his reports, Avila used the term “pink slime” 137 times to describe the substance, which results when beef trimmings are placed in a centrifuge to separate lean mean from fat and then treated with ammonia to kill E.coli and other bacteria, according to BBC.
BPI has called the reports false and defamatory and claimed that they nearly destroyed the business — the company claimed it lost 80 percent of its revenues and was forced to close three of its four processing plants.
“That success took about 30 years to succeed and it took ABC less than 30 days to severely damage the company,” BPI attorney Dan Webb had told the court, Reuters reported.
Attorneys for ABC News have defended the coverage as accurate and protected under the First Amendment. Dane Butswinkas, an attorney for the network, said “pink slime” was a
“In order to win the case, the beef product company will have to convince the jury that ABC not only said something that is false, but they would also have to show that ABC acted with actual malice,” food attorney Ivan Wasserman told NPR.
The trial was set for Elk Point, South Dakota, which is located roughly 20 miles north of BPI’s headquarters. South Dakota law allows for treble damages, so if BPI had won the $1.9 billion it sought, the actual award could be $5.7 billion after the judge tripled the jury award.
Susan Seager contributed to this report.