A lawsuit accusing Greenpeace of defamation and efforts to disrupt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline with protests went to trial on Monday, as the environmental advocacy group says the litigation could bankrupt the organization.
A Texas-based company claims the environmental advocacy group tried to delay construction of the ... [+]
Jury selection began Monday for a lawsuit filed by Dallas-based Energy Transfer against Greenpeace in Morton County, North Dakota, as a trial is scheduled to last five weeks, according to state court records.
Energy Transfer—which controls the Dakota Access Pipeline—sued Greenpeace in North Dakota state court in February 2019, accusing the advocacy group of $300 million in damages caused by its protests against the pipeline’s construction in 2016 and 2017, shortly after a similar complaint was dismissed by North Dakota’s federal court.
In March 2024, Energy Transfer amended its lawsuit in state court, alleging Greenpeace orchestrated an “unlawful and violent scheme” to cause “financial harm” to the company and “physical harm” to Energy Transfer’s employees and to disrupt the pipeline’s construction while defaming the company through a series of protests.
Greenpeace has denied the allegations and claimed the group is protected by the First Amendment, alleging Energy Transfer and other oil firms are “abusing the legal system to silence critics and keep their operations secret.”
Energy Transfer did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though the company said in September 2024 its lawsuit against Greenpeace is “not about free speech as they are trying to claim,” and rather “it is about them not following the law.”
Greenpeace—headquartered in Amsterdam—sued Energy Transfer in the Netherlands on Feb. 11, alleging the company has acted wrongfully by filing “meritless” lawsuits against the advocacy group while requesting Energy Transfer pay its legal fees and other damages.
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If the court rules in Energy Transfer’s favor, Greenpeace says the advocacy group “could face financial ruin, ending over 50 years of environmental activism.” Energy Transfer is seeking $300 million in damages from Greenpeace, an amount that is reportedly more than 10 times the group’s annual budget.
The Dakota Access Pipeline, operated by Energy Transfer, is a 1,170-mile pipeline that has carried oil from North Dakota to Illinois since June 2017. The pipeline—valued at about $3.8 billion—travels near the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s reservation and crosses under the nearby Lake Oahe, a reservoir the tribe uses as a source of drinking water. The tribe unsuccessfully sued to block the pipeline’s construction in September 2016, sparking protests from environmental activists. Hundreds of protesters were arrested throughout protests at the pipeline in 2016 and 2017, during which Greenpeace argues the advocacy group played a limited role as Native American groups headed efforts.
Energy Transfer and Greenpeace have been at odds for nearly a decade. In 2017, Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace and other environmental activist groups of spreading false information about the company’s plans to build the Dakota Access Pipeline, including false statements about the pipeline crossing into protected reservations. Energy Transfer disputed this and argued the company worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “for years” to ensure the pipeline’s route would have minimal impact on local resources. Energy Transfer estimated disruptions to construction of at least $300 million by Greenpeace and other advocacy groups, though the company claimed damages could approach $1 billion. Greenpeace denounced the lawsuit as “meritless” before it was dismissed by North Dakota’s federal court in 2019. Greenpeace sued Energy Transfer earlier this month, accusing the company of using the legal system to silence critics. Greenpeace is requesting Energy Transfer pay an unspecified amount in damages and costs related to the group’s legal defense against Energy Transfer’s lawsuits.