H-E-B settles a defamation claim with Texas industrial supply firm

H-E-B has just settled a two-year-old feud with a Texas industrial supply firm which revolved around the availability of disinfectant wipes during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports local news outlet the San Antonio Express-News.

The litigation included claims that the grocer defamed the industry supply firm, Winnie-based Maverick International Ltd. San Antonio-based H-E-B said in a court filing in its appeal of the defamation case, which was before the Texas Supreme Court, that it had agreed to pay a confidential amount to settle.

The dispute began over Maverick’s disinfectant wipes, called BioErase, that H-E-B wanted to sell in its stores as the coronavirus spread in 2020. Maverick failed to deliver hundreds of thousands of canister units of the wipes, H-E-B first alleged in a March 2021 lawsuit.

In a separate case in the state District Court in San Antonio, both parties were seeking damages ranging from $7.5 million to $30 million, according to a filing last month (that case was set to go to trial in January).

Both parties recently agreed to settle the various disputes.