Disney Discloses $177 Litigation Charge After 'Pink Slime' Food-Libel Settlement
August 09 2017 - 4:33AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Walt Disney Co. disclosed a $177 million litigation settlement
in its quarterly report Tuesday.
The company didn't offer details of what the settlement was
related to, though it comes just six weeks after its ABC News unit
reached a settlement of a $1.9 billion defamation suit filed by
Beef Products Inc. over a 2012 series of stories the network aired
about its processed-meat product, which critics had called "pink
slime." Terms of that settlement weren't released.
In its fiscal third quarter filing, Disney said the $177 million
settlement is a net sum after "committed insurance recoveries."
A Walt Disney Co. spokesman declined to elaborate on the
disclosure while an ABC News spokeswoman didn't respond to a
request for comment. A spokesman for Beef Products said: "As Disney
disclosed, $177 million is not the total settlement amount. Based
on Disney's disclosure, it appears that Disney is funding $177
million of the settlement and its insurers are paying the
rest."
In the report, ABC News correspondent Jim Avila said meat
product from Beef Products was made from "beef trimmings...once
used only in dog food." In its suit against ABC News, Beef Products
accused ABC of misleading viewers into thinking its product was
lacking in nutritional value and not safe to consume.
The trial was being held in South Dakota where Beef Products is
based.
When ABC News settled it said it stood by its reporting, but
decided that "continued litigation of this case is not in the
company's interest." South Dakota food-libel law allows for triple
damages against anyone determined to have knowingly lied about the
safety of a food product, meaning ABC News could have potentially
been hit with $6 billion in damages.
Beef Products said when the settlement was announced that it had
"again established" that its product is "safe, wholesome and
nutritious."
--Jacob Gershman contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 09, 2017 04:18 ET (08:18 GMT)
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