South Dakota Supreme Court Allows Discovery to Proceed in “Pink Slime” Defamation Lawsuit

May 23, 2014 | Kristine A. Tidgren

Beef Products, Inc. v. American Broadcasting Co., No. 27059 (S.D. Sup. Ct. May 22, 2014).

The South Dakota Supreme Court has denied the petition filed by American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC), and other defendants (including Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila) asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s order allowing a defamation action brought by Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) to continue against ABC.

BPI filed its product disparagement and interference with a business relationship action in 2012, alleging that ABC’s coverage of BPI’s lean, finely textured beef (which became known as “pink slime”) caused BPI to close three plants and to lay off hundreds of employees. The defamation action contends that ABC misled consumers into believing that its product was unsafe. BPI is seeking $1.2 billion in damages.  ABC argued that it could not have defamed BPI because it did inform consumers in the reports that the meat was beef and that it was safe and nutritious.  ABC asked the lower court to dismiss the action.

In March, a Union County South Dakota judge allowed the suit to continue, finding that “The entirety of the broadcasts can be reasonably interpreted as insinuating that plaintiffs are improperly selling a product that is not nutritious and/or not safe for the public’s consumption.”

ABC then filed a petition for allowance of appeal from an intermediate order with the South Dakota Supreme Court, asking the court to review the lower’s court’s order. On May 22, 2014, the court denied the petition and lifted a temporary stay that had been preventing discovery from proceeding.

Let the depositions begin in Union County, South Dakota. We’ll keep you posted. For further background on the legal history of food disparagement, read Roger McEowen and Erika Eckley's article, Pink Slime and the Legal History of Food Disparagement.