Jury says Greenpeace liable for oil pipeline company damages

A North Dakota jury found the environmental group liable on Wednesday for millions of dollars in damages alleged by Energy Transfer in a 2019 lawsuit, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The Texas-based company accused Greenpeace of incurring $300 million worth of delays and damages while the company constructed the nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Access Pipeline that transfers oil across four states. Energy Transfer alleged that environmental protesters coordinated by Greenpeace brought financial and physical harm to its employees and disrupted the pipeline’s construction. However, Greenpeace argued that demonstrators simply exercised their right to free speech by protesting the pipeline.

What has Greenpeace said? Greenpeace previously said that the financial impact of a guilty verdict could end the organization. The nonprofit’s senior legal adviser Deepa Padmanabha on Wednesday intimated that the group planned to appeal the verdict. The fight is not over, she told the Associated Press after the three-week trial. She said leaders planned to meet and map out the nonprofit’s next steps.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report from when the trial began last month for more background on the case.