Judge narrows Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit – Business News
A federal choose on Friday dismissed main parts of a Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit accusing its former guardian Unilever of making an attempt to silence the ice cream maker’s social activism, dismantle its board and stop funding its namesake basis.
US District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan dismissed seven claims and half of an eighth in a 10-count criticism by Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s, whose flavors embody Cherry Garcia, Half Baked and Phish Food, and by numerous unbiased administrators.
Castel additionally stated Magnum, the Amsterdam-based company that has owned Ben & Jerry’s because it was spun off from Unilever final 12 months, will take Unilever’s place as the first defendant.
US District Judge Kevin Castel dismissed seven claims and half of an eighth in a 10-count criticism by Ben & Jerry’s. Getty Images
The dismissed claims relate primarily to how Ben and Jerry’s operates, whereas the 2 claims that survived in full relate to missed funds by Unilever.
Unilever’s 2000 buy of Ben & Jerry’s had preserved substantial and unusual freedoms for the ice cream company, relative to most acquisitions.
These included an unbiased board, and the flexibility to proceed pursuing a social mission and charitable work courting from its 1978 founding by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.
The relationship started unraveling in 2021, nevertheless, when Ben & Jerry’s determined to stop promoting ice cream within the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Lawyers for Ben & Jerry’s unbiased administrators didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. Unilever and its legal professionals additionally didn’t instantly reply.
Magnum stated that it welcomed Castel’s resolution, which it stated considerably narrowed the case, and that the Ben & Jerry’s model is flourishing.
Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of violating the 2000 merger settlement by censoring its speech, which has included protests in opposition to the battle in Gaza, and ousting a chief govt who supported the company’s social activism. The alleged censorship additionally included an effort to suppress deliberate criticism of President Trump as he started his second White House time period.
The relationship between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s started unraveling in 2021 when the latter determined to stop promoting ice cream within the Israeli-occupied West Bank. dpa/image alliance through Getty Images
In addition, it accused Unilever of violating a 2022 settlement over the sale of Ben & Jerry’s trademark rights in Israel, by failing to pay $2.5 million to Ben & Jerry’s and $2 million to help Palestinian almond farmers.
Unilever denied censoring Ben & Jerry’s and stated the previous chief govt voluntarily resigned.
Castel stated the merger settlement’s “plain meaning” didn’t afford Ben & Jerry’s Class I administrators and the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation a proper to sue on behalf of the company, together with on the appointment and elimination of administrators.
Magnum, the Amsterdam-based company that has owned Ben & Jerry’s because it was spun off from Unilever final 12 months, will take Unilever’s place as the first defendant. Bloomberg through Getty Images
The choose stated the administrators might problem new board eligibility necessities. He additionally stated administrators might sue over the missed funds on their own behalf, not on Ben & Jerry’s behalf.
Unilever and Magnum agreed that claims over the missed funds might proceed for now, courtroom papers show.
The two firms are individually in search of the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit in San Francisco by Anuradha Mittal, who was ousted final December as chair of Ben & Jerry’s unbiased board. She accused the businesses of vilifying and discrediting her for supporting Palestinian rights.
Other Magnum manufacturers embody Breyers, Klondike and Wall’s. Unilever manufacturers embody Dove, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lifebuoy and Vaseline.
