ABC Ordered to Face South Dakota Jury Over ‘Pink Slime’ Lawsuit

KFGO News reports:

A South Dakota state judge has ordered ABC Broadcasting to face a potential $5.7 billion defamation lawsuit claiming it damaged Beef Products Inc by referring in a series of reports to a meat product it sold as “pink slime.”

Judge Cheryle Gering of the Union County Circuit Court in Elk Point, South Dakota, dismissed claims against anchor Diane Sawyer, but said ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co, and reporter Jim Avila must defend against such claims.

“A jury could determine that there is clear and convincing evidence that ABC Broadcasting and Mr. Avila were reckless, that defendants had obvious reason to doubt the veracity of informants, and that they engaged in purposeful avoidance of the truth,” Gering said during a hearing last month.

The judge said Sawyer was different in part because “her actions as anchor, which limits her involvement in doing research,” were not sufficient to establish defamation.  Gering did not rule on the case's merits.

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Source:  KFGO News

“Ground beef in a bowl” (CC BY 2.0) by USDAgov