Judge Will Order Greenpeace to Pay $345-M in Oil Pipeline Protest Case

A North Dakota judge said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345 million in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline nearly a decade ago — a sum the environmental group says it cannot afford, Jack Dura reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy, trespass, nuisance, and tortious interference. (Photo: Energy Transfer Facebook)

In court papers, Judge James Gion said he would sign an order requiring several Greenpeace entities to pay the judgment to pipeline company Energy Transfer.

He set the amount at $345 million last year after reducing a jury’s damages award by about half, though his latest filing did not specify a final figure. The order is expected to trigger an appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court from both sides.

Last year, a nine-person jury found Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and its funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. liable for defamation and other claims brought by Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access.

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy, trespass, nuisance, and tortious interference.

The other two entities were found liable on some claims.

The case stems from protests in 2016 and 2017, when thousands demonstrated and camped near the pipeline’s Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.

The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, citing risks to its water supply.

Damages originally totaled $666.9 million before the judge reduced the award. Greenpeace USA’s share was set at $404 million before the reduction.