Greenpeace faces bankruptcy with $345M judgment in Dakota Access Pipeline case

Judge finalizes massive award against Greenpeace

A North Dakota judge ordered Greenpeace to pay $345 million to Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Judge James Gion finalized the ruling on Feb. 27, 2026, after nearly a year of legal wrangling over the amount. Three Greenpeace groups owe the money: Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace Fund, and Greenpeace International.

Both sides plan to appeal. The case goes back to the 2016-2017 pipeline protests that drew national attention.

Judge cut the jury’s original award

The final number is actually half of what a jury wanted. Nine jurors in Morton County, N.D., awarded Energy Transfer about $667 million in March 2025.

Judge Gion reduced it in October 2025, agreeing with Greenpeace that parts of the verdict went beyond legal limits and included errors.

But he didn’t finalize the lower amount until late February. Energy Transfer plans to ask the North Dakota Supreme Court to bring back the full amount.

Energy Transfer blamed Greenpeace for protest damages

Energy Transfer sued Greenpeace in Morton County back in 2019. The company claimed Greenpeace organized and funded harmful activity during the pipeline protests.

The accusations included defamation, trespassing, property damage, conspiracy, and interfering with the company’s business.

Energy Transfer also said Greenpeace spread false statements that hurt its standing with banks and investors.

The jury found Greenpeace USA responsible for nearly all the claims. The other two entities faced narrower findings, mostly tied to defamation.

Greenpeace says it played a minor role

Greenpeace tells a very different story. The organization says Indigenous groups led the protests and that Greenpeace played only a small, supporting part.

According to Greenpeace, just six of its employees visited the protest camps, all from Greenpeace USA.

The group calls the lawsuit a SLAPP, short for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, a legal tactic meant to silence critics through costly court battles.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire has said Greenpeace did not pay or manipulate the tribe.

Greenpeace says it can’t pay the judgment

The numbers paint a tough picture. In a financial filing, Greenpeace USA reported just $1.4 million in cash and about $23 million in total assets as of the end of 2024.

A Greenpeace attorney told reporters the organizations have never had the ability to pay hundreds of millions of dollars.

Greenpeace has said it would not be able to keep running normally if the court enforces the judgment. This is the largest damage award ever handed down against any Greenpeace entity worldwide.

Energy Transfer tried this case twice

This lawsuit has a long backstory. Energy Transfer first sued Greenpeace in federal court in 2017 using the RICO Act, a law built to fight organized crime.

A federal judge threw that case out in 2019, ruling the evidence fell far short of proving a criminal operation.

Energy Transfer then refiled in North Dakota state court with state-level claims, and that’s the case that produced the current verdict.

North Dakota does not have an anti-SLAPP law, which in other states lets defendants push for early dismissal of suits aimed at punishing free speech.

The pipeline sparked a historic standoff

The Dakota Access Pipeline stretches about 1,172 miles underground, carrying crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Energy Transfer built it for about $3.8 billion, and it has been running since June 2017.

The route passes within a mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and crosses under Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposed the project, saying it threatened their water supply and sacred sites. That opposition sparked one of the biggest protest movements in recent American history.

Thousands joined the Standing Rock protests

Protests kicked off in April 2016 when tribal members set up camps near the pipeline route. Thousands of supporters from across the country showed up, including members of more than 200 tribes.

Clashes between protesters and law enforcement made national headlines, with reports of police using water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas.

The Obama administration denied a key permit in December 2016, but President Trump reversed that decision shortly after taking office in January 2017.

The pipeline keeps running despite legal battles

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating since June 2017 and carries a large share of oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to fight the pipeline in court, arguing it still lacks a valid federal easement. A federal judge ordered a new environmental review in 2020, but the pipeline has kept running throughout that process.

Legal battles over the project have now stretched on for close to a decade.

Greenpeace maps out its next legal moves

Greenpeace says it will first ask Judge Gion for a new trial. If he says no, the organization will take its case to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Greenpeace International has also opened a separate front, filing a lawsuit against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands under the European Union’s anti-SLAPP rules.

That case landed in the Court of Amsterdam in July 2025, and the next hearing is set for April 16, 2026.

Energy Transfer wants the full jury award

Energy Transfer called the judgment an important step in holding Greenpeace accountable. The company plans to appeal and push for the full $667 million the jury originally awarded.

Energy Transfer also tried to get Judge Gion to block the Netherlands lawsuit, but the judge turned that request down. The company has said the verdict sends a clear message to anyone who breaks the law.

The case could reshape protest rights

Legal experts say this case could discourage other activist groups and nonprofits from organizing protests against corporations.

The verdict ranks among the largest ever against an environmental organization and could set a precedent for similar lawsuits.

SLAPP suits have been rising in recent years, with oil companies Shell, TotalEnergies, and ENI also filing cases against Greenpeace entities in other countries.

The outcome of the appeals could shape the future of protest rights and corporate accountability in the United States.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The 7th Cavalry’s final march: When Custer left Fort Abraham Lincoln
• North Dakota’s oldest fair started as a literal war training site
• How a ruined “Minnesota Wheat King” built the world’s biggest farm in Dakota Territory