Jury reaches verdict in trial of pipeline company's lawsuit against Greenpeace

A North Dakota jury has found Greenpeace liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests against an oil pipeline's construction. The jury said Wednesday that the environmental advocacy group must pay more than $650 million in damages to Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access. The companies had alleged defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy and other claims against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund Inc. Attorneys for Greenpeace had denied the claims. The case reaches back to protests in 2016 and 2017 against the Dakota Access Pipeline and its Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.