A federal judge today dismissed all claims of a racketeering suit brought by Greenpeace against PR firms Ketchum and Dezenhall Resources, along with clients Dow Chemical and Sasol North America.
Judge Rosemary Collyer of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia tossed the civil action seeking compensatory, statutory and punitive damages, following motions to dismiss by the two firms and two clients filed in late February.
She found that Greenpeace’s injuries were too remote for racketeering violations under federal RICO laws, even if Greenpeace’s documents were stolen, as the environmental group alleged.
Greenpeace filed the suit in November 2010 charging violations under RICO and wire fraud for an alleged illegal campaign to steal information group the group from 1998-2000 on behalf of the two clients.
A private security contract was alleged to have conducted a “dumpster diving” operation and other surveillance.