Mandan, North Dakota — Greenpeace defendants met Energy Transfer plaintiffs in a post-trial hearing in North Dakota state court, where a jury in March found Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US liable for a perverse amount of damages, more than US$660 million. The hearing addressed a request by Greenpeace defendants for the Court to rule in their favor on all claims — despite the jury reaching a different conclusion — because the evidence presented at trial was legally insufficient to rule in Energy Transfer’s favor. The court has not yet made a ruling.
Kristin Casper, General Counsel, Greenpeace International said:
“We presented clear arguments for the dismissal of all legal claims against Greenpeace International, which the North Dakota Court has no jurisdiction over to begin with. The only piece of evidence of the actions of Greenpeace International that Energy Transfer has complained about is a single letter of solidarity that Greenpeace International signed on to, along with 500 other organisations, directed at banks outside of North Dakota, and that we argue was clearly protected free speech. The District Court has a duty to step in and correct errors, and now is the time for the Court to enter a judgment in favor of Greenpeace International.”
Deepa Padmanabha, Senior Legal Advisor, Greenpeace USA said:
“Today’s hearing exemplifies Energy Transfer’s weaponisation of what solidarity means. Their inflammatory rhetoric and efforts to mischaracterise constitutionally protected conduct do not change the fact that, almost eight years later, there is still no evidence to support the claims in this case. As we enter this next chapter in our legal saga, we will continue to expose their blatant attempts to rewrite the history of the Indigenous-led resistance at Standing Rock and Greenpeace’s role.”
Following decisions on post-trial motions, the entering of a final judgment by District Court Judge Gion is the next step in proceedings in Mandan. This will start the clock for the appeal process to the North Dakota Supreme Court. A first administrative hearing in Greenpeace International’s counter-suit against Energy Transfer will take place on 2 July 2025 — in the first-ever use of European Union’s new anti-SLAPP law.[1]
ENDS
Notes:
- In February 2025, Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against Energy Transfer. Greenpeace International seeks to recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of Energy Transfer’s back-to-back, intimidation lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars against Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organisations in the US.
Energy Transfer’s lawsuit is a clear-cut example of a SLAPP — a type of lawsuit that aims to bury nonprofits and activists in legal fees, push them towards bankruptcy and ultimately silence dissent. Big Oil companies Shell, Total, and ENI have also filed SLAPPs against Greenpeace organisations in recent years. Some 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 Italy and Greenpeace Netherlands are facing the Italian oil giant Eni in a court case in Italy on 24 June.
Contacts:
Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]
Join the Greenpeace SLAPP Trial WhatsApp Group for our latest updates
