Recently, Energy Transfer Partners filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace.
The Dakota access developer accused Greenpeace as well as other environmental groups of inciting eco-terrorist groups to spread wrong information about the Dakota Access Pipeline. According to the lawsuit, Greenpeace launched the eco-terrorism campaign seeking to block the pipeline.
The suit has already caused the accused at least $300 million, and they could even end up bleeding more cash. Also, with the suit in place, the future of environmental activism could experience hurdles.
This federal lawsuit is set to be big, especially since it was filed by attorneys who also happen to work for the same New York firm that represents Donald Trump, the US president. The suit was presented at the US District Court for the District of North Dakota.
The Dakota pipeline operator and developer claims that Earth First, Greenpeace and the other rogue organizations took part in the misleading campaigns so they could solicit more donations and run their business or political agendas.
In the lawsuit, the Energy Transfer Partners continue to argue that the actions of the environmental activists caused damage not only to the pipeline but also to the people and property along the pipeline’s route.
The Dakota Pipeline began shipping oil in June 2017. It was constructed so that it could deliver oil from North Dakota to the Midwestern refineries.
There have been several other protests over the pipeline in the previous years. Tribes such as the Standing Rock Sioux vehemently protested against the pipeline in fear of their drinking water being polluted and their archaeological sites being tampered with.
During his reign, President Obama had ceded to the cries of the tribes and stopped the project. However in January this year, President Trump gave an executive order that facilitated the completion of the pipeline construction.
In the suit, ETP is seeking triple damages, which means that the accused could end up paying fines worth at least $1 billion. However, according to Greenpeace USA counsel, ETP is just another corporate bully out to harass public participants.
According to the USA counsel, Energy Transfer Partners is only seeking to silence free speech.
