U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier has ordered Beef Products Inc.’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News back to the circuit court in Union County, S.D. The processor is suing the news network for its coverage over the “pink slime” scandal, claiming that ABC damaged the company by misleading consumers into thinking that the product is unhealthy and unsafe.

Lawyers for ABC wanted the case moved from South Dakota to federal district court because it said that the parties involved are from different states, reports the Washington Post. A lawyer for the network did not comment on the judge’s decision.

Erik Connolly, a lawyer for BPI, said the company is looking forward to presenting its case.

“We originally filed the case in state court because that was the proper jurisdiction,” Connolly said in an email. “The Court’s decision confirms we were correct.”

Source: Washington Post