For many years, Greenpeace has gotten by from the consequences of their actions, which their victims have had to pay for. That is no longer true, as a jury found them liable for the destruction of machinery and other damages. The award for the plaintiffs has been set at a whopping six hundred and sixty thousand dollars. This would effectively drive Greenpeace into bankruptcy.
CBS News reports:
Greenpeace ordered to pay more than $660 million to fossil fuel company over pipeline protests
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.”
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELGreenpeace 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.
So they’re planning to appeal? What if the appeal fails?
Maybe Greenpeace could hold a bake sale to raise the funds.
Greenpeace is vowing continued legal action after a North Dakota jury found it liable for $660 million in damages relating to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer, sued Greenpeace for defamation, trespassing, nuisance and civil conspiracy, among other things. Greenpeace has previously said that an unfavorable ruling would “shut down Greenpeace USA.” The organization now says it plans to appeal the outcome.
“Although a jury of nine people in North Dakota has decided that Greenpeace entities are liable for over $660 million in damages, this isn’t over,” Greenpeace said in a statement.
“We’re going to appeal. And we’re prepared to fight this all the way to victory,” the organization said. “We absolutely believe in our legal defense. We believe the law is fully on our side. We believe in what we did at Standing Rock, and that ultimately we will prevail against this meritless lawsuit.”
“We’ve fought Energy Transfer’s lawsuits for more than seven years. Every step of the way, we’ve emphasized that these types of lawsuits — intended to silence and shut down critics — are part of a growing national attack on our First Amendment rights,” Greenpeace argued.
The case stems from protests in 2016 and 2017 against the multi-state Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposed the project, saying it posed a risk to its water supply and imposed harm on their land.
#GreenpeaceLawsuit #DakotaAccessPipeline #EnergyTransferVictory
