In new court filings, the board of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s alleges parent company Unilever ousted their CEO, breaching the companies’ merger agreement.

Ben & Jerry's accused its parent company, Unilever, of deciding to oust the ice cream maker's chief executive Dave Stever because he let it speak out on social policy issues, escalating a battle over the subsidiary's independence.

Ben & Jerry’s says its CEO was unlawfully removed by its parent company, Unilever, in retaliation for the ice cream maker’s social and political activism.