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North Dakota Supreme Court Sides with Energy Transfer in Greenpeace Fight over Dutch Lawsuit
The court said the Dutch case conflicted with a Morton County jury verdict and could not proceed as a parallel challenge to the North Dakota ruling.
On Thursday, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in a 4-1 decision that Greenpeace International cannot pursue most of its lawsuit against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands.
Energy Transfer sued the group for allegedly organizing illegal efforts to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, with a Morton County jury initially awarding $667 million before a judge reduced the judgment to $345 million.
Justice Jerod Tufte wrote that the Amsterdam case conflicted with jury findings, overturning Southwest Judicial District Judge James Gion's decision, though Chief Justice Lisa Fair McEvers dissented from the majority.
Trey Cox, lead counsel for Energy Transfer, praised the ruling, stating it "protects the authority of the North Dakota judicial system" from foreign attempts to challenge the jury's verdict.
Greenpeace International Senior Legal Counsel Daniel Simons argued the decision does not end accountability under European Union law, and the group indicated it may continue pursuing legal action in Amsterdam.