Friday,  September 14, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 059 • 17 of 38 •  Other Editions

Lawyers: 'Pink slime' lawsuit an uphill climb
CHET BROKAW,Associated Press
GRANT SCHULTE,Associated Press

• LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Beef Products Inc. will face a steep climb in its "pink slime" defamation lawsuit against ABC News as the South Dakota-based meat processor works to rebuild its public image, legal experts say.
• BPI sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub "pink slime," claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.
• The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor must prove that the network knowingly published false information and intended to harm its business. A lawyer for BPI expressed confidence that the company would prevail. But defamation- and food-law experts said the case would be difficult to win.
• The lawsuit seeks damages under South Dakota's defamation law, as well as a 1994 state law that allows businesses to sue anyone if they knowingly spread false

information that a food product is unsafe. The company is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 "false and misleading and defamatory" statements about the product -- officially known as lean, finely textured beef -- said Dan Webb, BPI's Chicago-based attorney.
• The 257-page lawsuit names American Broadcasting Companies Inc., ABC News Inc., ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer and ABC correspondents Jim Avila and David Kerley as defendants. It also names Gerald Zirnstein, the USDA microbiologist who named the product "pink slime"; Carl Custer, a former federal food scientist; and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.
• ABC News, owned by The Walt Disney Co., denied BPI's claims.
• "The lawsuit is without merit," Jeffrey

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