The company that owns an Alabama hamburger plant can proceed with its negligence counterclaim involving defective freezers the manufacturer allegedly failed to fix, a Delaware Superior Court judge decided Monday.

Judge Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court determined Irvine, California-based Golden State Foods Corp. provided sufficient information for its claim that the $3.715 million freezers it agreed to purchase from food processing technology manufacturer GEA Systems North America, which is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania, had been improperly installed and maintained, with Golden State suffering losses due to the freezers launching hamburger patties around its plant.