A Dutch court has agreed to allow Greenpeace International to pursue a lawsuit that claims Energy Transfer illegally retaliated against the group for protesting the Dakota Access pipeline.
The Netherlands-based environmental organization seeks to challenge Energy Transfer’s defamation suits, which sought damages from Greenpeace for protests it joined in 2016 and 2017 over the construction of the oil pipeline in the Dakotas. Energy Transfer has secured hundreds of millions in damages from Greenpeace in a North Dakota court.
The Dutch court ruling allows the Greenpeace lawsuit — called an anti-SLAPP, or strategic lawsuits against public participation — to proceed under Dutch law. But the court also said the organization could not rely on the European Union’s anti-SLAPP law.
Both parties in the case claimed preliminary wins following the decision.
