A North Dakota jury found Greenpeace responsible for insulting and ordered a oil company to pay more than 660 million dollars (£ 507 million) to pay damage to an oil company for the role of the environmental group in one of the largest fossil anti-fosil fuel protests in the US history.
Texas -based energy transfer accused Greenpeace of unauthorized entry, distress and civil conspiracy on demonstrations against the Dakota Access pipeline almost ten years ago.
The lawsuit filed at the state court argued that Greenpeace was behind a “illegal and violent plan to financial damage to energy transfer”.
Greenpeace, who promised appeal, said he could be forced to bankruptcy due to the case last month and could end more than 50 years of activism.
Standing rock sioux reservation against the pipeline near the pipeline, but the Greenpeace did not lead the demonstration and argued that the case threatened to speak free. Instead, he said that the protests were managed by local local leaders who opposed the pipeline.
The nine -person jury made a decision on Wednesday, which lasts about two days.
The case was heard in a court in Mandan, about 160 km north of the protests.
Trey Cox, a lawyer for energy transfer, said Greenpeace’s actions during closing arguments have damaged between 265 million dollars and $ 340 million. In addition to this amount, he asked the jury to cause additional damages.
The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline attracted international attention in the first period of President Donald Trump, because the Indian groups set up a camp trying to prevent them from passing by Standing Rock.
The protests, which saw the actions of violence and vandalism, began in April 2016 and ended in February 2017, when the national guard and police cleared the demonstrators.
At the summit, more than 10,000 protesters were on the field. Group, current US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr. More than 200 Indian tribes, including, including hundreds of US military veterans, actors and political leaders.
1.172 miles pipeline has been operating since 2017. However, there is no permission to operate under Lake Oahe in South Dakota, and local tribes have pressure on a comprehensive environmental examination of the project.
During the three -week hearing, the jury members received news from Kelcy Warren, the founding partner and chairman of Energy Transfer, who said that the protesters created a “complete narrative” about the company’s company.
“It’s time to fight,” he said.
Energy Transfer’s lawyer, Mr. Cox, told the court that Greenpeace used the Dakota Access pipeline to “introduce its own selfish agenda”.
Greenpeace’s lawyers argued that the group did not lead protests, but only helps to support “non -violence, direct action training”.
In response to the decision, Kristin Casper, General Advisor to Greenpeace International, said, “The energy transfer did not hear our end in this fight,” he said.
“We will not retreat, we will not be silenced,” he said.
Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said that “the size of the decision will have a creepy effect on environmental and other public interest cases,” he said.
“He can encourage plaintiffs in other states to present to similar cases.” He said.
Greenpeace International, the main group of Greenpeace Fund Inc and Amsterdam, the Washington DC -based financing arm in addition to the legal process of Energy Transfer called Greenpeace USA.
Greenpeace claims that the oil company is trying to unjustly use the legal system to silence critics, and has an energy transfer against the Dutch Court.
The lawsuit filed at the beginning of this month aims to recover all damages and costs.
