USA: Judge finalises USD345m judgment against Greenpeace in Energy Transfer lawsuit over Dakota Access Pipeline protests
“North Dakota judge finalizes $345m judgment against Greenpeace in pipeline case”, 28 February 2026
A North Dakota judge on Friday finalized a $345m judgment against Greenpeace in a lawsuit pursued by pipeline company Energy Transfer over the environmental group’s role in protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The final judgment by judge James Gion was in line with a decision he issued in October, in which he slashed by almost half a damages award of about $667m that a jury had awarded Energy Transfer in March.
Greenpeace in a statement said it would seek a new trial and, if necessary, appeal the decision to the North Dakota supreme court, calling the lawsuit “a blatant attempt to silence free speech”…
Energy Transfer in a statement called the decision an “important step in this legal process of holding Greenpeace accountable for its unlawful and damaging actions against us during the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline”.
It added it was “analyzing possible next steps that we may choose to take to make sure they are held fully accountable”…
Construction of the pipeline, which now transports roughly 40% of the oil produced in North Dakota’s Bakken region, was met with fierce protests by environmental and tribal advocacy groups…