A North Dakota judge has slashed the amount that Greenpeace owes in damages to an oil pipeline company as part of yearslong legal spat surrounding the green group’s role in opposing the Dakota Access pipeline.
The judge’s order this week dramatically reduced the amount that a North Dakota jury ordered Greenpeace to pay Energy Transfer, the developer of the Dakota Access pipeline, in a lawsuit alleging damages connected to protests over the pipeline in 2016 and 2017.
After the jury ordered Greenpeace in March to pay $667 million in damages, North Dakota Judge James Gion this week issued an opinion reducing the amount owed by Greenpeace to a total of about $345 million.
It’s the latest chapter in a sprawling legal battle that pits the green group against the oil pipeline company. Greenpeace and its allies contend that the lawsuit is an attempt to limit protests and chill free speech and that it threatens environmental groups beyond Greenpeace. “Simply put, our entire movement’s future could be in jeopardy,” Greenpeace’s website declares.
