PIERRE, SD – A lawsuit filed by Beef Products Inc. will proceed to the discovery phase, the Sioux City Journal reported. The South Dakota Supreme Court denied an ABC News appeal of a lower court ruling to throw out the lawsuit.

Additionally, the court granted a temporary stay in BPI's defamation lawsuit against ABC News, according to the report.


South Dakota Supreme Court Justice David Gilbertson lifted a temporary stay in the lawsuit. Gilbertson granted the ABC's motion for a stay while the Supreme Court decided ABC News' appeal.

BPI is suing ABC News over the network's coverage of lean finely textured beef (LFTB). Attorneys for BPI claim that ABC News defamed the BPI's LFTB product in news reports and social media posts. The company lost $400 million in profits and at least 700 workers lost their jobs as a result of the broadcaster's reporting, BPI lawyers said.

BPI is seeking more than $1 billion in damages for defamation, product and food disparagement and tortious interference with business relationships.