North Dakota Judge Slashes $300 Million Off Judgment Against Greenpeace for Pipeline Protests

An environmental advocacy group, Greenpeace, says it still wants a new trial despite having more than $300 million slashed from a judgment against it over protests against a pipeline in North Dakota almost a decade ago. The occasionally violent and destructive demonstrations took place between 2016 and 2017 against the Dakota Access Pipeline, run by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners.On Wednesday, a North Dakota judge, James Gion, cut the amount awarded to the plaintiffs by a jury to $345 million, a little more than half of the original $660 million.The protests were led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supported by thousands of Indigenous and environmental activists. The energy company said the protests cost it hundreds of millions of dollars due to property damage and lost revenue.In March, a jury found Greenpeace liable on all counts, including charges such as trespass and conspiracy, and ordered it to pay more than $660 million. The environmental group denied it was involved in efforts to stop the construction of the pipeline and appealed the ruling, saying it cannot afford to pay the judgment. Greenpeace says it still plans to ask for a new trial, saying “We still believe that the remaining claims are legally unfounded.”If Judge Gion declines the group’s request for a new trial, Greenpeace said it will file an appeal. The interim general counsel for Greenpeace, Marco Simons, said in a statement that the case “has always been about a wealthy corporation using the legal system to intimidate its critics and muzzle protesters who threaten its business model.”While the environmental group fights to get the judgment thrown out, it is also pursuing an anti-intimidation lawsuit against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands. That lawsuit is filed under a European Union law established to provide recourse to defendants who are targeted with frivolous lawsuits to try to silence them.The environmental group is seeking monetary damages from Energy Transfer, accusing the pipeline company of defaming it and trying to chill free speech. In September, Judge Gion rejected a request from Energy Transfer to halt the Netherlands lawsuit.

North Dakota Judge Slashes $300 Million Off Judgment Against Greenpeace for Pipeline Protests

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