A Dakota jury of nine 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.
staff, outside attorneys and others gather outside the
Morton County memorial Courthouse in Mandan, North Dakota
shortly after the case was given to the jury for
deliberations on March 17, 2025,.
(Photo/Supplied)
Mads
Christensen, Greenpeace International Executive Director
says, “We are witnessing a disastrous return to the
reckless behaviour that fuelled the climate crisis, deepened
environmental racism, and put fossil fuel profits over
public health and a liveable planet. The previous Trump
administration spent four years dismantling protections for
clean air, water, and Indigenous sovereignty, and now, along
with its allies, wants to finish the job by silencing
protest. We will not back down. We will not be
silenced.”
Russel Norman, Greenpeace Aotearoa
Executive Director says, “Coming in the same year
as the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Greenpeace
flagship Rainbow Warrior here in Aotearoa by French
Government agents, this is a jarring reminder that our fight
to defend Earth’s ability to sustain life is very
real.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“In 1985, it was the nuclear states threatening
global annihilation, and today, it is the oil industry.
They’re fighting tooth and nail to keep polluting for
profit as the rest of us face the climate crisis, but as
we’ve shown time after time, when we stand together, we
win. This fight isn’t over.”
of the Greenpeace team hold up a banner outside the Morton
County Memorial Courthouse in Mandan, North Dakota March 16,
2025
(Photo/Supplied)
Sushma
Raman, Interim Executive Director Greenpeace Inc, Greenpeace
Fund says, “This case should alarm everyone, no
matter their political inclinations. It’s part of a
renewed push by corporations to weaponise our courts to
silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future
of the First Amendment and lawsuits like this aimed at
destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech.
These rights are critical for any work toward ensuring
justice – and that’s why we will continue fighting back
together, in solidarity. While Big Oil bullies can try to
stop a single group, they can’t stop a
movement.”
Energy Transfer’s lawsuits are clear-cut
examples of SLAPPs – lawsuits attempting to bury nonprofits
and activists in legal fees, push them towards bankruptcy
and ultimately silence dissent.[1] Big Oil companies Shell,
Total, and ENI have also filed SLAPPs against Greenpeace
entities in recent years.[2] A couple of these cases have
been successfully stopped in their tracks. This includes
Greenpeace France successfully defeating TotalEnergies’
SLAPP on 28 March 2024, and Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace
International forcing Shell to back down from its SLAPP on
10 December 2024.
Greenpeace International
General Counsel Kristin Casper says, “Energy
Transfer hasn’t heard the last of us in this fight.
We’re just getting started with our anti-SLAPP lawsuit
against Energy Transfer’s attacks on free speech and
peaceful protest. We will see Energy Transfer in court this
July in the Netherlands. We will not back down. We will not
be silenced.”
In February 2024, GPI initiated the
first test of the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive by
filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against ET.[3] GPI seeks to
recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of
ET’s back-to-back, meritless lawsuits demanding hundreds
of millions of dollars against GPI and the Greenpeace
organisations in the US.
Notes
