North Dakota Judge Moves to Slap Greenpeace with $345 Million Verdict Over Dakota Access Protests
Judge James Gion is reportedly pushing an order for Greenpeace to pay $345 million to Energy Transfer. This massive judgment follows a nine-person jury finding Greenpeace USA liable for defamation, conspiracy, trespass, nuisance, and tortious interference related to 2016 and 2017 protests near the Missouri River crossing.
Greenpeace counters this by arguing the entire legal action constitutes an attempt to 'use the courts to silence activists and critics and chill First Amendment rights.' The proceedings center on the pipeline's opposition to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's water supply. While the source report details the findings against Greenpeace entities, users like 'supersquirrel' focus entirely on the suppression of speech.
The clear procedural path involves mandatory appeals to the North Dakota supreme court from both sides. The consensus is that the legal battle is settled on its face by a multi-million dollar liability ruling, but the core conflict remains a direct clash between massive corporate litigation power and civil rights advocacy.
Key Points
#1Greenpeace faces $345 million liability.
Judge James Gion is moving to enforce a judgment requiring Greenpeace entities to pay Energy Transfer this amount.
#2The lawsuit claims defamation and trespass.
A jury found Greenpeace USA liable for defamation, conspiracy, trespass, nuisance, and tortious interference.
#3Activists view the suit as censorship.
Greenpeace explicitly frames the lawsuit as a mechanism to 'use the courts to silence activists and critics and chill First Amendment rights.'
#4The legal fight is headed to appeal.
The final order from Judge James Gion is expected to immediately trigger an appeal process in the North Dakota supreme court from both the plaintiff and defendant.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.