The ice cream giant accused its parent company of removing its CEO because of his support for the brand’s activism.

The rights of the board were reaffirmed two years ago as part of a settlement from a previous lawsuit.After this article was published, a spokesperson for Unilever said the company has tried repeatedly to engage with the independent board of Ben & Jerry’s to discuss the CEO’s employment.

Ben & Jerry’s parent firm threatened then ousted the ice cream brand’s chief executive for defending its “social mission,” a Tuesday court filing alleges. Officials with the consumer packaged goods company Unilever told Ben & Jerry’s independent board that it planned to remove chief executive Dave Stever on March 3 and pressed the board to quickly rubber-stamp the decision,