Defendants directly and indirectly funded eco-terrorists on the ground in North Dakota: lawsuit
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE: ETE) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP) have filed a federal lawsuit against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Inc., BankTrack and Earth First! for violation of federal and state racketeering statutes.
The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. The complaint, which is Index number 1:17-cv-00173, alleges that the group of co-conspirators manufactured and disseminated materially false and misleading information about Energy Transfer and the Dakota Access Pipeline for the purpose of fraudulently inducing donations, interfering with pipeline construction activities and damaging Energy Transfer’s critical business and financial relationships.
The complaint also alleges that the group incited, funded, and facilitated crimes and acts of terrorism to further these objectives. It further alleges claims that these actions violated federal and state racketeering statutes, defamation, and constituted defamation and tortious interference under North Dakota law.
Referring to the group of defendants that are targeted in the lawsuit as “the enterprise,” in a press release this week, Energy Transfer said “the alleged enterprise is comprised of rogue environmental groups and militant individuals who employ a pattern of criminal activity and a campaign of misinformation for purposes of increasing donations and advancing their political or business agendas.”
The complaint describes the defendants’ misinformation campaign that aggressively targeted Energy Transfer’s critical business relationships, including the financing sources for DAPL and Energy Transfer’s other infrastructure projects, by publicly demanding these financial institutions sever ties with Energy Transfer or face crippling boycotts and other illegal attacks.
The complaint asserts that the attacks were “calculated and thoroughly irresponsible, causing enormous harm to people and property along the pipeline’s route.”
Dakota Access was a permitted project that underwent nearly three years of environmental review “and for this reason, Energy Transfer believes it has an obligation to its shareholders, partners, stakeholders and all those negatively impacted by the violence and destruction intentionally incited by the defendants to file this lawsuit,” the company said.
In its statement, Energy Transfer said “the DAPL misinformation campaign was predicated on a series of false, alarmist, and sensational claims that plaintiffs encroached on tribal treaty lands; desecrated sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s (“SRST”) in constructing DAPL; constructed DAPL without consulting with and over the rights and objections of SRST; and used excessive and illegal force against peaceful protestors.”
Energy Transfer said “the enterprise also claimed that the pipeline will inevitably result in catastrophic oil spills, poisoned water, and massive climate change, while ironically, members of the enterprise deliberately and maliciously attempted to cut holes in the pipeline with torches which, if successful, would have resulted in significant environmental damage and possible loss of life.
“The enterprise supported these false claims with manufactured evidence, including phony GPS coordinates purporting to show the existence of cultural and religious artifacts along DAPL’s corridor, and sham affidavits submitted in court.
“In addition to its misinformation campaign, the enterprise directly and indirectly funded eco-terrorists on the ground in North Dakota,” the company said.
“These groups formed their own outlaw camp among peaceful protestors gathered near Lake Oahe, and exploited the peaceful activities of these groups to further the enterprise’s corrupt agenda by inducing and directing violent and destructive attacks against law enforcement as well as plaintiffs’ property and personnel. The enterprise then flagrantly manipulated these “made-for-TV” events to raise more funds for the enterprise. These terrorist groups also funded their activities and the enterprise by using donations to fund a lucrative drug trafficking scheme inside the camps,” the company said in its statement.
“Other illegal activities directed at Energy Transfer and its executives that are alleged in the complaint include persistent attempted cyber-attacks and telephonic and electronic threats to the physical safety of executives,” the company said.
Energy Transfer said that the enterprise has conceded that their campaign has inflicted “hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to the company,” including increased costs of financing resulting from the enterprise’s interference with the company’s financial relationships and mitigation costs in response to the enterprise’s illegal and malicious campaign. These damages, as well as the harm to the company’s reputation, resulting from the enterprise’s misinformation campaign, continue to this day, the company said.
Energy Transfer is seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be proven at trial as well as treble and punitive damages. According to reports by CNBC, disruptions to construction alone cost Energy Transfer at least $300 million. AP reported the total damages could be near $1 billion.
Michael J. Bowe from Kasowitz, Benson & Torres LLP, the company’s counsel, is continuing the investigation into the enterprise’s campaign and practices.
The company said that anyone with information can provide it on a confidential basis by telephone at 212-506-1777. A website will be established to catalog information and publish progress reports on the case and, when necessary, to set the record straight as the facts warrant.
Greenpeace attorney Tom Wetterer said the lawsuit is “meritless” and part of “a pattern of harassment by corporate bullies,” the AP reported.
What’s behind Greenpeace International – from one of the organization’s founders
Oil & Gas 360® conducted and published an exclusive interview with Greenpeace International founder Patrick Moore in July, 2015.
In part one of the interview, the former self-described “radical environmental activist” and one of the original founders of Greenpeace International, Dr. Patrick Moore, told Oil & Gas 360® why he left Greenpeace.
Moore said when he and the other founders started Greenpeace, there were two goals: to save the whales and stop nuclear weapons testing in Alaska. But the movement “left the rails” after those goals were accomplished, Moore said.
“The real clincher came when my fellow directors decided to launch a campaign to ban chlorine worldwide. And just coincidentally I ended up being the only international director with a formal science education. The others were legitimately political activists or social activist entrepreneurial types looking for a position in this new industry called Environmentalism that would give them a career and a pension. Greenpeace adopted a pension two months after I left, so I my reaction was – I got out just in time,” Moore told Oil & Gas 360®.
Moore said the organization subsequently jumped on the climate change cause, which he characterized as being “fueled by fear and fundraising.”
In the second part of the exclusive interview, Moore expressed his views about carbon dioxide and climate change with Oil & Gas 360®.
