<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/we-will-not-back-down-court-tells-greenpeace-to-pay-billion-dollar-damages-bill-to-oil-and-gas-company/>
"A jury in the US has hit Greenpeace with $US660 million ($A1.04 billion) in
damages for defamation and other claims for the green group’s part in a
campaign led by First Nations people against an oil pipeline in 2016 and 2017.
The Standing Rock protests marked a major turning point in the movement against
new oil and gas infrastructure, when the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe led a
campaign against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.
Right wing organisations and groups mobilised in response to the protests that
became a flashpoint in the broader fight over climate change, with sweeping
anti-protest laws rolled out across the United States.
The case against Greenpeace is the latest reaction to the protest with
Dallas-based oil and gas company, Energy Transfer Partners, alleging it lost
$70 billion as a result of the campaign. It pursued Greenpeace in the courts
alleging defamation and incitement of criminal behaviour against the project.
The lawsuit relied upon a US-specific statute, the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), that was initially written to target the mob,
but has since been used to prosecute international football federation FIFA for
corrupt conduct and ExxonMobil for its role in attacking the science of climate
change.
By seeking hundreds of millions in compensation against an organisation that
played a minimal role in the protests, legal experts have described the
litigation known as “strategic litigation against public participation”, or a
“SLAPP Suit”. These are cases brought by large corporation to shut down public
criticism or protest about a company’s activities.
The case has been mired in controversy from the outset with many jurors holding
unfavourable views of the protests and it was reported that more than half the
jurors selected to hear the case had ties to the fossil fuel industry.
Greenpeace made multiple attempts to move the hearings to another venue over
concerns it would not get a fair hearing but were denied.
Following the verdict, Greenpeace International Executive Director Mads
Christensen linked the decision to a broader corrosion of the right to protest
in the US under the Trump administration."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
