Greenpeace Fights Logging Company’s RICO Lawsuit

By Nicholas Iovino
Courthouse News Service
October 11, 2017
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

SAN FRANCISCO — Greenpeace on Tuesday accused a logging company of misusing federal anti-racketeering laws to attack environmental groups that criticize its logging in North America’s largest forest. “This is a completely inappropriate remedy,” Greenpeace attorney Laura Handman said during a motion to dismiss hearing Tuesday. “[RICO] was originally designed to reach organized crime, but now it’s being used to reach environmental organizations.” Handman urged U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Greenpeace of fraudulently conspiring against a Georgia-based paper and pulp manufacturer to try to increase donations.  …“We have harm that’s caused by communications directed to our customers, the same communications being directed to donors,” Resolute attorney Michael Bowe told the court Tuesday. “This is a false narrative broadcasted to the world on the internet.” …Greenpeace attorneys say Resolute fabricated its claims of a wire and mail fraud conspiracy, that the case is really about alleged defamation, which cannot serve as the basis for a RICO claim.

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