Beef Products Inc. has settled its defamation and libel suit against the American Broadcasting Company and its reporter Jim Avila, Beef Products said on Wednesday. The trial began earlier this month in Elk Point, South Dakota and had been expected to last eight weeks.BPI had claimed ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Company, and Avila defamed the company by using the term “pink slime” and making errors and omissions in its 2012 reporting on what the company calls its “lean finely textured beef” product. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“While this has not been an easy road to travel, it was necessary to begin rectifying the harm we suffered as a result of what we believed to be biased and baseless reporting in 2012,” South Dakota-based BPI said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we have again established what we all know to be true about Lean Finely Textured Beef: it is beef, and is safe, wholesome, and nutritious.”
“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 interest, we remain committed to the vigorous pursuit of truth and the consumer’s right to know about the products they purchase, ” ABC said in a statement.
BPI sought up to $1.9 billion in damages, which could have been tripled to $5.7 billion under South Dakota’s Agricultural Food Products Disparagement Act.
