ABC pays $177 million in ‘pink slime’ lawsuit

A legal settlement between ABC and a South Dakota meat producer in a defamation lawsuit over the network’s reports on a beef product that critics dubbed “pink slime” exceeded $177 million, an attorney for the producer said Wednesday.

Disney, which owns ABC, disclosed a $177 million legal settlement charge in a filing with a government securities regulator this week that didn’t specifically link it to South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. BPI attorney Dan Webb said that based on the disclosure, it appears Disney is funding $177 million of the settlement and insurers are “paying the rest.”

“As Disney disclosed, $177 Million is not the total settlement amount,” Webb said in a statement, which didn’t give the full figure.

Disney reported in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it’s pursuing “additional insurance coverage for this matter.” The company didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment from The Associated Press.

BPI and ABC announced the settlement in June while the case was at trial. BPI could have been seeking damages as high as $1.9 billion, according to the SEC filing from Disney.

BPI sued in 2012, saying ABC’s coverage of its lean, finely textured beef product misled consumers into believing the product is unsafe, is not beef and isn’t nutritious.