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North Dakota Supreme Court Orders Halt to Greenpeace’s Dutch Countersuit Against Energy Transfer

The 4-1 ruling signals a push to protect a state jury’s defamation award from challenges filed in foreign courts.

Overview

  • The justices directed Judge James Gion to enjoin Greenpeace International’s Amsterdam case Thursday, calling it a collateral attack on the Morton County jury’s verdict.
  • Justice Jerod Tufte wrote that asking a Dutch court to label Energy Transfer’s suit “manifestly unfounded and abusive” would clash with jury findings on unlawful conduct, losses, and malice.
  • Chief Justice Lisa Fair McEvers dissented, saying there was no clear error in Gion’s earlier denial and questioning whether a Dutch ruling would affect the U.S. judgment.
  • Energy Transfer’s win stands as a $345 million judgment after a jury first awarded $667 million, and the Greenpeace defendants have asked for a new trial.
  • Greenpeace filed the Dutch case in 2025 under a new EU anti-SLAPP law that aims to protect protest speech, and an Amsterdam court held a mid-April hearing on Energy Transfer’s bid to dismiss the suit.