Lawsuit dismissed against Dakota Access Pipeline protesters

May 19, 2017 News On Demand
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In this aerial photo, the site where the final phase of the Dakota Access Pipeline will take place with boring equipment routing the pipeline approximately 100 feet below and across Lake Oahe to connect with the existing pipeline in Emmons County is seen, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Cannon Ball, N.D. on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. A federal judge on Monday refused to stop construction on the last stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline despite opposition from two American Indian tribes that say it threatens their water supply and interferes with religious practices. (Tom Stromme, Bismarck Tribune via AP)

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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline against Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault and four others.

Dakota Access LLC filed the complaint last year against Archambault and others, seeking restraining orders and monetary damages.

The Bismarck Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2q3y5jN ) that the company claimed they interfered with pipeline work, threatening the safety of workers and costing the company more than $75,000 a day.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland ruled Thursday that the company failed to show that the alleged losses caused by each defendant exceeded $75,000, which is required for a lawsuit to be valid in federal court.

Hovland says the company can pursue damages in state court.