Disney Pays $177M+ To Settle ’Pink Slime’ Case

Walt Disney Co paid $177 million, in addition to insurance recoveries, to settle the closely watched "pink slime" defamation case against its ABC network by Beef Products Inc., a quarterly financial report shows. Privately-held BPI sued American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 2012 for $5.7 billion, saying it and reporter Jim Avila had defamed the company by using the "pink slime" tag, and making errors and omissions in a series of reports that year. Disney and BPI, which calls the product "lean finely textured beef," came to an undisclosed settlement in June, 3-1/2 weeks after a trial began in South Dakota, where BPI is based.