Federal Court Dismisses Pipeline Corporation’s Lawsuit Against the Earth First! Environmental Movement

On August 23, 2018, a federal court in North Dakota dismissed the SLAPP brought by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the corporation behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, against the Earth First! Environmental movement. The Center for Constitutional Rights provided legal counsel to the Earth First! Journal. The court rejected ETP’s attempt to sue the journal, finding that it was a separate entity from the Earth First! Movement named in the lawsuit.The case is part of a broader SLAPP against Greenpeace, BankTrack, and Earth First! intended to cause a chilling effect among activists opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. In July, the court also dismissed the portion of the SLAPP targeting BankTrack.