Energy Transfer claimed in a lawsuit that Greenpeace was responsible for defamation, disruption and property damage for protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In a win for the oil and gas pipeline company Energy Transfer, a nine-person North Dakota jury found the environmental group Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages and defamation for the 2016 to 2017 Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In their lawsuit, Dallas-based Energy Transfer claimed Greenpeace was responsible for defamation, disruption and property damage for the protests that captured national attention in 2016. Greenpeace claimed the lawsuit threatened its freedom of speech.
In a statement, Energy Transfer said, „This win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace. It is also a win for all law-abiding Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law.“
Greenpeace plans to appeal the verdict. „This is the end of a chapter, but not the end of our fight. Energy Transfer knows we don’t have $660 million. They want our silence, not our money.“ Sushma Raman, interim executive director of Greenpeace Inc., told CBS News.
Greenpeace accused Energy Transfer of filing a „SLAPP“ lawsuit, short for strategic lawsuits against public participation. SLAPP lawsuits have been criticized as being a method of curtailing free speech and assembly by individuals, organizations or press by threatening lengthy and expensive legal proceedings in court. 35 states have anti-SLAPP laws aimed at preventing these types of lawsuits.
