Greenpeace Hit with a $660M Verdict! Pipeline Company Wins Massive Defamation Lawsuit

2025-03-20 06:02:52.044

A North Dakota jury ruled against Greenpeace, ordering the environmental group to pay Energy Transfer, a pipeline company, hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, alleged defamation and the incitement of criminal behavior during protests against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016 and 2017. Energy Transfer claimed Greenpeace orchestrated a misinformation campaign that fueled the protests. Greenpeace denied the allegations and stated that the lawsuit aimed to stifle peaceful protest. The jury awarded Energy Transfer at least $660 million, a sum Greenpeace says could bankrupt its US operations. Concerns were raised about the impartiality of the jury, with more than half having ties to the fossil fuel industry and expressing negative views of anti-pipeline protests. Greenpeace plans to appeal the verdict, arguing that the trial was unfair and that the massive award could have a chilling effect on free speech. The case has drawn attention from the non-profit community and First Amendment experts, with some characterizing it as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) designed to silence critics. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which had also protested the pipeline, released a statement asserting their leadership of the protests and accusing Energy Transfer of seeking to silence their voices. Energy Transfer maintained that the verdict vindicated the rule of law and held Greenpeace accountable for disrupting the community.