Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.

The new amount is roughly half the $667 million that a jury previously awarded to the pipeline company that brought the claims, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.

Greenpeace had asked State District Judge James Gion to rule in its favor on various claims before recalculating the damages. In granting some requests, the judge cited no evidence to review or duplicative damages; in denying others, he found evidence to be reasonable for the finding reached by the jury.

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