U.S. jury orders Amsterdam-based Greenpeace to pay millions over Dakota pipeline protest
A jury in the American state of North Dakota has ruled that Greenpeace must pay damages to the owner of an oil pipeline in the state for delaying the construction of the pipeline through a reservation. The total damages amount to over 660 million dollars. The Amsterdam-based international branch of Greenpeace is liable for part of that amount, AP reported.
The Dallas-based energy company Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and Greenpeace Fund of defamation, trespass, nuisance, and civil conspiracy. The jury found Greenpeace USA guilty on all counts, and the other two entities liable for some.
According to the jury, the environmental organization committed defamation against the company in 2016 and 2017 and organized violent campaigns against it. Greenpeace activists protested with a native group against the construction of an oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, delaying the construction, the jury determined. Greenpeace must therefore pay damages, the jury ruled.
The total damages amount to about 667 million dollars. According to NOS, Greenpeace USA is liable for almost 404 million dollars of that amount, while Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Fund must each pay approximately 131 million dollars.
The environmental organization’s lawyers argued that there was no evidence that Greenpeace was responsible for the delay in the construction of the pipeline. They called the case a SLAPP, a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation with which companies try to silence activists. According to the lawyers, the case is a test of free speech and the fossil energy company is trying to bankrupt Greenpeace.
Greenpeace lawyer Deepa Padmanabha stressed that the environmental organization’s work was never going to stop. “That’s the really important message today, and we’re just walking out and we’re going to get together and figure out what our next steps are,” she told AP.
