On Match 19, a Morton County, ND, jury reached a verdict in Energy Transfer’s meritless lawsuit against Greenpeace entities in the US (Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund), and Greenpeace International, finding the entities liable for more than US$660 million today. Big Oil Bullies around the world will continue to try to silence free speech and peaceful protest, but the fight against Energy Transfer’s meritless SLAPP lawsuit is not over.
Four weeks ago, we reported that Energy Transfer again sued three Greenpeace entities (Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, and Greenpeace International) over the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016-17. This lawsuit is a prime example of SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation). The company first tried it in federal court, but that suit was dismissed. The company then refiled an almost identical suit in a state court in North Dakota. After refusing a change of venue from Morton County, a jury of nine awarded Energy Transfer a total of $660 million.
SLAPPs are never meant to seek remedies for actual harm but to tie up and bankrupt the defendant, in this case, Greenpeace, and to silence protected speech. Many jurisdictions have anti-SLAPP laws, but North Dakota isn’t one of them.
Greenpeace, of course, will appeal the verdict and has already initiated an anti-SLAPP lawsuit (under the European Union Anti-SLAPP Directive) in the Netherlands. Said Greenpeace International General Counsel Kristin Casper, “We will see Energy Transfer in court this July in the Netherlands.”
