ABC Tries to Slide Out of Pink Slime Lawsuit

ABC network, along with employees Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila, are asking a judge to dismiss a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit regarding the network’s reporting on lean, finely textured, beef products. ABC had nicknamed the product “pink slime,” which Beef Products, Inc. claims led to significant losses. BPI filed the lawsuit in 2012 claiming the reporting led to the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs. However, in the request for dismissal, ABC argues that the number of reports was driven primarily by questions from viewers.