Greenpeace court filing an admission of ‘lying,’ forest company charges
TORONTO — A forestry multinational that is suing Greenpeace under American racketeering laws alleges that the activist organization’s recent court filings are essentially an admission that it lies, a claim the group forcefully denies.
The new public relations offensive by Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products focuses on free-speech arguments Greenpeace has advanced as it seeks to have a $300-million lawsuit tossed without a hearing on its merits.
“This is the most significant development in the four-plus years of this saga,” Resolute vice-president Seth Kursman told The Canadian Press. “Greenpeace has admitted that they were lying about our forestry practices. Their campaign has been peddling falsehoods.”
In its fight to stop the company’s lawsuit in Georgia, Greenpeace argues in a recent court filing that its criticism of Resolute’s logging practices in Canada’s boreal forests should be viewed through the prism of free speech rather than taken literally.