Environmental Group Greenpeace has been ordered to pay more than $660 million by a North Dakota ju apprentice in connection with the protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline.
Dallas-based energy transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access have condemned Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and its funding division, Greenpeace Fund Inc. for its delinquent loss, trespassing, nuisance, civil conspiracy and other conduct.
Greenpeace USA was found to be liable for all counts, while others were liable for some. Unpaid damages are distributed in different amounts across three entities.
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Greenpeace representatives will speak to reporters outside Morton County Courthouse in Mandan, Newdos on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)
In a news release, Greenpeace called the lawsuit “merciless.”
“This incident requires everyone to be vigilant regardless of political trends,” said Sushmaraman, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Inter supervisor of Greenpeace Fund. “It's part of a new push by businesses to weaponize courts to silence dissent. We all need to worry about the future of the First Amendment and the lawsuits like this aimed at destroying the right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech.”
Members of the Greenpeace press conference next to a massive art installation called “permanent plastic machines” ahead of the global plastic treaty consultation held in Paris on Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Greenpeace said earlier that a massive award for pipeline companies threatens to bankrupt the organization. After the verdict, Greenpeace's senior legal counsel Deepa Padmanava said the group's work “never stops.”
“That's a really important message today, we're just going out and we're going to get together and figure out what the next step is,” she said outside the courthouse.
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In this December 1st, 2016 file photo, children descended the hill of ND Cannonball at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people gathered to protest against the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline Stand (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The organization said it plans to appeal the decision.
The Energy Transfer called Wednesday's verdict a “victory” for Americans who understand their right to free speech and their right to break the law.”
“We are pleased that Greenpeace is responsible for their actions against us, but this victory really won for people across Mandan and North Dakota who had to overcome the daily harassment and confusion caused by protesters funded and trained by Greenpeace.”
On November 2, 2016, protesters opposed the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline Wade in Cold Creek waters facing local police near Cannonball, North Carolina. (AP Photo/John L. Morne)
The company said the lawsuit is not about free speech and does not concern protesters' failure to comply with the law.
The case stems from protests against the Multi-State Dakota Access Oil Pipeline in 2016 and 2017. The Standing Rocksou tribe opposed the project, saying it took risks to water supply and harmed the land.
Thousands of protesters camped for months near Standing Rock Reservation, where the pipeline crosses beneath the Missouri River.
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The pipeline transports approximately 5% of the US daily oil production. that Oil transport has begun Mid-2017.
Free speech and the environment defenders criticized the trial, saying the lawsuit was about the silence of protests and was intended to bring the enemy into bankruptcy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
