Ben & Jerry’s Sues Parent for Backtracking on West Bank Ice Cream Sales Stance

Famed ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s sued Conopco, a subsidiary of parent company Unilever, in Manhattan federal court Tuesday morning alleging a deal Unilever struck regarding sale of the company’s ice cream in the West Bank violates their 2000 merger agreement.

The lawsuit, filed by Houston litigation boutique Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing and New York firm Cohen & Gresser, seeks a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against Unilever to prevent it and any third parties from selling Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the West Bank because doing so would “destroy the brand and social integrity Ben & Jerry’s has spent decades building,” the 22-page complaint says. It also claims Unilever breached its merger and shareholders agreements with Ben & Jerry’s from 2000.