ABC Looks to Kill 'Pink Slime' Lawsuit, Saying It's a Threat to Free Speech

Network lawyers are bringing a motion to dismiss, warning a judge that the 257-page pleading by a South Dakota-based boneless-lean-beef giant is filled with a slime against the First Amendment.

ABC has asked a South Dakota federal judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit over its "pink slime" reporting.

The original lawsuit was filed in September by Beef Products Inc., a boneless-lean-beef giant, which sued the network as well as news anchor Diane Sawyer and several correspondents for its coverage of pink slime, the popular term employed to describe the use of fillers, trimmings and bacteria-killing ammonia in ground beef.

After ABC made noise about pink slime in a March 7 World News program, a consumer backlash rose against the use of it in supermarkets, restaurants and school lunches.

BPI alleged that "false and misleading and defamatory" statements were made by ABC reporters and USDA officials in the report, causing people to believe the product was unhealthy and unsafe. As a result of the backlash, the company says it had to close three plants and lay off 650 people. The $1.2 billion represented the damage that had allegedly been incurred upon the company.

ABC argues that BPI's claims are insufficient to support its allegations that laws have been violated.

According to the network's legal papers, "ABC News did not state or imply that BPI engaged in unlawful or fraudulent conduct in connection with the USDA's approval of LFTB, or in connection with how others label the ultimate ground beef products that are sold to consumers."

The network attempts to dismiss BPI's other causes of action including tortious interference, but overall, ABC wants a judge to throw out the lawsuit because of the consequences of letting it move forward.

"It is vitally important that they be addressed at the outset, because libel claims directly challenge free speech, and the mere pendency of these cases threatens to inhibit additional speech," says ABC, represented by the law firm of Williams & Connolly.

Read More & see ABC's memorandum: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/abc-looks-kill-pink-slime-385236