Ben & Jerry’s said in a court filing that its parent company had ousted its chief executive, David Stever, without approval from the ice cream maker’s board.

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

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.