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Energy Transfer Partners lawsuit could bankrupt Greenpeace

 

Oil company’s lawsuit could bankrupt Greenpeace

Dakota Access Pipeline protesters

Pacific Press/Getty Images

One of the biggest environmental advocacy networks in the world says it might have to shut down if it loses a lawsuit brought by Energy Transfer Partners, the owner of the Dakota Access Pipeline, that went to trial yesterday.

The suit accuses Greenpeace, its grant-making arm, and Greenpeace International of trespassing, defamation, and financial harm over their support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s 2016/2017 nonviolent protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction.

Energy Transfer is seeking $300 million from Greenpeace USA, more than 10x the nonprofit’s annual budget, according to the New York Times. Energy Transfer is worth almost $70 billion.

Constitutional rights experts are watching closely:

  • More than 430+ organizations including Amnesty International and the American Federation of Teachers have signed an open letter condemning the lawsuit as an attempt to suppress free speech and peaceful protest.
  • Energy Transfer has denied the anti-free speech allegations, saying the suit is about “them not following the law.”

SLAPP in the face: Legal experts told The Guardian and NPR that they agree with Greenpeace that the case amounts to a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, aka litigation that aims to silence a corporation’s critic with expensive court proceedings. North Dakota, where the trial is taking place over the next five weeks, is one of 15 states without anti-SLAPP laws, which can help defendants get cases dismissed and recover legal costs.—ML

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