Greenberg Traurig Represents State of North Dakota in $27.8M Settlement With Federal Government Over Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

DENVER - June 16, 2026 - Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP represented the state of North Dakota in litigation that culminated in a $27.8 million settlement with the federal government, the full amount of the bench verdict, resolving its Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) case arising from the federal government's handling of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests.

North Dakota sued the United States under the FTCA for negligence, gross negligence, civil trespass, and public nuisance for its role in allowing large protests on federal lands against the DAPL from 2016 to 2017, which brought widespread violence and property destruction to North Dakota. Following a five-week bench trial in 2024 involving 50 fact and expert witnesses, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor found in North Dakota's favor in April 2025, awarding the state $27.8 million, the full amount of its requested damages after accounting for $10 million previously paid by the United States. The settlement reached this June reflects the full verdict amount and brings the total recovery for North Dakota to $37.8 million.

"This settlement is a tremendous result for the people of North Dakota, who bore an enormous and unjust burden as a result of the federal government's actions during the DAPL protests," said Paul M. Seby, who developed the case and led the team from Greenberg Traurig. "We are proud to have stood with North Dakota through every stage of this eight-year litigation to ensure the state was made whole."

The team was led by Seby, an Environmental Practice shareholder in Denver, and included Litigation Shareholder Paul B. Kerlin in Houston, Environmental Shareholder Christopher L. Bell in Houston and Washington, D.C., and Environmental Of Counsel Matthew K. Tieslau in Denver, with support from Litigation Support Trial Consultant Jose Diaz in Miami and Paralegal Kevin Collins in Denver.