ABC News, and it parent company, Disney, may just decided to risk a court judgment that could end up being in the billions to defend itself against a defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit has been brought by a South Dakota meat packing company, Beef Products, Incorporated, who claims they were defamed and lost a huge chunk of business after ABC News aired a report about them and their ground beef products in 2012.
Beef Products, Inc. is looking for a $1.9 billion settlement with ABC News but that settlement number could triple if a jury decides that ABC News had a “reckless disregard” for the truth. The original story reported claimed that the ground beef products sold at supermarkets and consumed at restaurants and schools, was little more than what critics have called “pink slime”. Following the report, there was major outrage, even panic in some places, around the country.
If Beef Products can somehow prove that ABC News actually lied about the product, and misled the public, the jury declaration could be upwards of $6 billion. While the federal government’s Department of Agriculture has publicly declared Beef Product’s ground beef to be safe, many retailers, including WalMart, pulled the company’s products from their shelves following the 2012 report by ABC News.
Lawyers for Beef Products have accused ABC News of stating that their client’s products were, not only unsafe and lacked nutrition, but were, in reality, not even beef. The Beef Products’ lawyer’s said not only that but that ABC had “engaged in a disinformation campaign against a company that produces safe and nutritious beef, leading to billions of dollars in damages and hundreds of lost jobs.”
The court has excused ABC News anchor, Diane Sawyer, from the trial along with several other witnesses including a Department of Agriculture biologist who actually created the “pink slime” term back in 2002. The court said Sawyer was not involved in the actual research for the reporting and, therefore, couldn’t be included in the defamation.
In a formal statement, ABC News declared that, “We are pleased that the court dismissed all claims against Diane Sawyer. We welcome the opportunity to defend the ABC News reports at trial and are confident that we will ultimately prevail.”
The jury trial could begin as early as June 5.
PHOTO CREDITS: ABC News
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