"Pipeline developer asks North Dakota judge to halt Greenpeace lawsuit in Europe", 25 July 2025

The developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline has asked a North Dakota judge to stop Greenpeace from counter-suing it in the Netherlands.

Energy Transfer says Greenpeace is trying to undermine a March jury verdict that ordered the environmental group to pay the company more than $660 million, finding it responsible for defamation and inciting illegal behavior by anti-pipeline protesters. Greenpeace supported the protests started by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 2016 against the pipeline’s construction.

Greenpeace denies Energy Transfer’s allegations, and has accused the company of bringing the lawsuit solely out of a desire to punish the environmental group for opposing the pipeline project...

Not long before the North Dakota lawsuit went to trial, the Netherlands-based Greenpeace International filed its own lawsuit against Energy Transfer in a Dutch court, arguing Energy Transfer’s legal challenge violated its rights.

Greenpeace says the case is the first filed under a European Union directive meant to prevent organizations from weaponizing the courts to silence speech they don’t like.

Energy Transfer this week called on Southwest Judicial District Court Judge James Gion to issue an emergency order telling Greenpeace it cannot pursue its lawsuit in the Netherlands as long as the North Dakota case and any appeals are pending...

Gion has yet to issue a judgment in the North Dakota case. Greenpeace has requested that Gion overturn the jury’s verdict, or at least reduce it. Gion has not yet made a decision on those requests either.

Energy Transfer this week told Gion he should enter a judgment against Greenpeace soon in light of the Dutch lawsuit.

Caplow in his letter said Gion cannot issue a judgment until he sorts out Greenpeace’s motions to throw out or reduce the jury’s verdict. He also wrote the judgment should not be issued “for any reason other than a determination of the merits.”...