A federal decide on Friday dismissed main parts of a Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit accusing its former father or mother Unilever of making an attempt to silence the ice cream maker’s social activism, dismantle its board and cease 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 embrace Cherry Garcia, Half Baked and Phish Food, and by numerous unbiased administrators.

Castel also said Magnum, the Amsterdam-based firm that has owned Ben & Jerry’s since it was spun off from Unilever last yr, will take Unilever’s place as the main 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, while the two 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 firm, relative to most acquisitions.

These included an unbiased board, and the skill to proceed pursuing a social mission and charitable work relationship from its 1978 founding by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

The relationship started unraveling in 2021, however, when Ben & Jerry’s determined to cease promoting ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Lawyers for Ben & Jerry’s unbiased administrators did not instantly reply to requests for remark. Unilever and its attorneys also did not instantly reply.

Magnum said that it welcomed Castel’s resolution, which it said considerably narrowed the case, and that the Ben & Jerry’s model is thriving.

Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of violating the 2000 merger settlement by censoring its speech, which has included protests against the battle in Gaza, and ousting a chief govt who supported the firm’s social activism. The alleged censorship also 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 cease promoting ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. dpa/image alliance via 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 support Palestinian almond farmers.

Unilever denied censoring Ben & Jerry’s and said the former chief govt voluntarily resigned.

Castel said the merger settlement’s “plain meaning” did not afford Ben & Jerry’s Class I administrators and the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation a proper to sue on behalf of the firm, including on the appointment and removing of administrators.

Magnum, the Amsterdam-based firm that has owned Ben & Jerry’s since it was spun off from Unilever last yr, will take Unilever’s place as the main defendant. Bloomberg via Getty Images

The decide said the administrators could problem new board eligibility necessities. He also said administrators could 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 could proceed for now, court docket papers present.

The two firms are individually searching for the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit in San Francisco by Anuradha Mittal, who was ousted last December as chair of Ben & Jerry’s unbiased board. She accused the firms of vilifying and discrediting her for supporting Palestinian rights.

Other Magnum manufacturers embrace Breyers, Klondike and Wall’s. Unilever manufacturers embrace Dove, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lifebuoy and Vaseline.