A North Dakota jury this week found Greenpeace liable for defamation, conspiracy and other claims over its participation in the Dakota Access pipeline protests that lasted from 2016 to 2017, awarding developer Energy Transfer LP $660 million in damages. Legal experts warn the decision could significantly deter other environmental groups from protesting oil and gas companies and their infrastructure around the US.

“The potential for liability itself will have a chilling effect,” said Jennifer Safstrom, an assistant clinical law professor at Vanderbilt University.

Greenpeace must pay the oil company that operates the Dakota Access Pipeline hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for defaming them, a North Dakota jury decided Wednesday — a massive financial blow to the group that environmentalists say could chill future climate advocacy. The case centered on Greenpeace’s involvement in the protests over the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which became a cultural flash point in the United States, drawing thousands of protesters to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in 2016 and 2017. Dallas-based Energy Transfer, which runs the...

Greenpeace has been ordered to pay the operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline $667 million for defamation and its role in organizing protests against the oil pipeline, a North Dakota jury ruled on Wednesday. Environmentalists have warned that the verdict will be detrimental to environmental advocacy and will bankrupt the organization. Texas-based Energy Transfer’s and its subsidiary Dakota Access’s lawsuit named three entities as defendants: Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and Greenpeace Fund Inc., the network’s funding arm.

Environmental group Greenpeace was ordered Wednesday to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to a Texas-based pipeline company for its role in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline's construction in North Dakota. On Wednesday, a nine-person jury at the Morton County courthouse in south-central North Dakota awarded more than $660 million in damages to Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access, according to calculations from Greenpeace. The company accused Greenpeace USA, parent group Greenpeace International, and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc.