DAPL Developer Sues Environmental Groups

In a remarkable development around the contentious Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), the developer of the project, Energy Transfer Equity and Energy Transfer Partners, sued the environmental groups that opposed DAPL. Energy Transfer sued Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Inc., BankTrack, and Earth First! alleging that the:

group of co-conspirators (the "Enterprise") manufactured and disseminated materially false and misleading information about Energy Transfer and the Dakota Access Pipeline ("DAPL") 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 Enterprise 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