AMSTERDAM — An Amsterdam court delivered an initial win for Greenpeace on Wednesday, declining to dismiss the environmental organization’s lawsuit against a US fossil fuel pipeline company.
The environmental group, which operates from the Netherlands, filed the legal action last year seeking to challenge a massive $345 million judgment related to demonstrations against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. A North Dakota jury had previously held Greenpeace responsible for substantial damages to the Texas-based Energy Transfer company.
Greenpeace responded by taking their fight to Amsterdam District Court, claiming the North Dakota legal action was improper and harmed the organization’s standing.
“Energy Transfer has been engaging in blatant attempts to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with the ongoing, peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline,” stated Greenpeace’s executive director Mads Christensen on Wednesday.
Energy Transfer challenged the Amsterdam court’s authority to handle the matter, but judges determined that since Greenpeace operates its headquarters from the Dutch capital, the case could proceed.
A North Dakota judge announced in February that he would require Greenpeace to pay damages, an amount the environmental organization claims it cannot afford. Greenpeace has indicated it plans to challenge that ruling.
