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perbole' that is constitutionally protected," a memorandum attached to the motion said.
• ABC News also contends the meat processor cannot claim harm under the 1994 South Dakota food product law. That law deals only with the safety of the food product, according to the ABC News lawyers, and the reports did not question the product's safety or nutritional value.
• "The ABC News reports repeatedly stated that LFTB is safe to eat," the memo with the motion said.
• A lawyer for the meat processor said it will oppose the motion to dismiss.
• Company officials have long insisted that the product is safe and healthy, and blamed the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs on what they viewed as a smear campaign.
• The lean, textured beef trimmings were the subject of many media reports earlier this year, and also have drawn comments from television chefs and food commentators. This year's social media uproar prompted Beef Products to suspend operations at plants in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kan.; and Waterloo, Iowa.
• Legal experts have said Beef Products faces an uphill battle because the company must prove ABC knew the stories were false or had doubts about the truth. A judge will make a decision later.
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• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A circuit court judge has ruled that Gov. Dennis Daugaard's contract with a national recruiting firm can stand.
• Judge Mark Barnett on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the governor that aimed to invalidate a $5 million contract awarded to Manpower.
• KELO-TV reports that Careers Unlimited Staffing, Employment Edge and Reagan Enterprises argued the contract violated state and federal laws and the U.S. Constitution. The agencies said the governor overstepped his authority and put them at a competitive disadvantage.
• Manpower's contract was to recruit 1,000 skilled out-of-state workers to fill positions in financial services, information technology, engineering and manufacturing. The Legislature approved the plan.
• The judge says the plaintiffs didn't have enough of a case.
• Lawyer Steven Sanford tells the Argus Leader his clients haven't yet decided if they'll appeal.
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