Banks| Policies| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2022-06-02 00:00:00
GFANZ must tighten the screw on fossil fuel expansion
2022-05-19 00:00:00
BNP Paribas and Société Générale: stop financing climate destruction and human rights abuses
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Barclays is big on beef and burning
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Standard Chartered’s 2022 AGM dominated by shareholder alarm over fossil financing
2022-05-20 15:14:47
Seven financiers abandon TotalEnergies' EACOP pipeline in a week
2021-12-16 13:33:02
Cambo oil field "paused" following pressure on Shell & banks
2021-12-16 13:04:42
Equator Principles improve transparency after BankTrack shows the way
2021-11-02 11:03:26
ANZ launches human rights grievance mechanism in a first for the global banking sector
Connect
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
2022-03-08 00:00:00
BankTrack Annual Report 2021
2022-03-03 00:00:00
Locked out of a Just Transition: fossil fuel financing in Africa
2021-12-14 00:00:00
Actions speak louder: Assessing bank responses to human rights violations
2021-10-26 00:00:00
Equator Compliant Climate Destruction: How banks finance fossil fuels under the Equator Principles
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Home › Successes
Judge dismisses DAPL case against BankTrack in full: our reaction
Start
Dodgy Deals

By: BankTrack
2018-07-25

Contact:

Johan Frijns, Director, BankTrack: +31 24 324 9220

Legal counsel, Robin Martinez: +1.816.694.6304, martinezlaw.net

For all additional media enquiries please contact Ryan Brightwell, BankTrack: ryan@banktrack.org


Share this page:

Photo: BankTrack
Go to:
Start
Related Dodgy Deals

The lawsuit filed against BankTrack by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, has been dismissed by a North Dakota District Court. The judge ruled that Energy Transfer had failed to state a plausible Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) claim against BankTrack, and that without that, the court has no jurisdiction over BankTrack for the additional non-federal claims. 

The judge’s dismissal can be downloaded here.

The judgement reaches far beyond a narrow focus on BankTrack's advocacy, making clear that ETP's arguments represent a "dangerously broad" application of RICO that would allow governments and corporations "to curtail almost any disagreeable, arguably protected speech". While the judgment focuses on BankTrack's advocacy activity, including writing to banks and publishing commentary on their activities, ETP's complaint is packed full of attempts to characterise the everyday advocacy of all the defendants, including Greenpeace and others, as being somehow criminal in nature.

BankTrack director Johan Frijns said: “We’re very pleased to learn that the frivolous claims against BankTrack have been dismissed. Everything we have been saying has been vindicated. Energy Transfer’s allegations about our supposed involvement in directing acts of “radical ecoterrorism” were hard to take seriously from the outset, and we are pleased that the judge has confirmed that these were sweeping statements without any basis in fact.

“BankTrack raised legitimate human rights concerns arising from the Dakota Access Pipeline with the banks financing the project. The judge’s decision confirms that this type of advocacy work is legitimate and is not “reasonably or plausibly related” to any acts of criminal conduct, as was alleged by Energy Transfer. 

“We hope the judge will now similarly dismiss the case against the other defendants, and that the ringing rejection of this case will discourage other corporations from launching these kinds of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. BankTrack is grateful to our lawyer, Robin Martinez, and to EarthRights International, for their exceptional and tireless work in helping us resist this case.”

Marco Simons, General Counsel of EarthRights International, which serves as consulting counsel for BankTrack in the lawsuit, commented: "Corporations attempting to silence criticism of their conduct have started turning to the RICO statute, and Judge Wilson's decision is a strong rebuke to this tactic. The opinion makes clear that however much a company like Energy Transfer Partners dislikes public criticism of its projects, it cannot use RICO to argue that its critics are involved in organized crime. This is the right interpretation of the law, and it should shut down similar efforts against other advocates and nonprofits."

BankTrack, Earth First! and Greenpeace were named as defendants in the lawsuit by Energy Transfer Equity and Energy Transfer Partners, the companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, in September 2017. The lawsuit alleged that BankTrack, along with other environmental advocacy groups "manufactured and disseminated materially false and misleading information about Energy Transfer and the Dakota Access Pipeline" and "incited, funded, and facilitated crimes and acts of terrorism to further these objectives." BankTrack’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed in November 2017. ETP has a right to appeal the judge's decision.

The judge’s dismissal can be downloaded here.
Other key documents concerning the case are collected on the BankTrack website here.
Go to:
Start
Related Dodgy Deals

Related Dodgy Deals

Projects

There are no projects active for this item now.
on record

Dakota Access Pipeline United States

Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted