Indian mining company Adani has agreed to drop its ongoing prosecution of environmental activist Ben Pennings.
Pennings declared victory Thursday after Queensland The Supreme Court signed the order Wednesday, ending a five-and-a-half year trial. The order requires Pennings not to try to obtain Adani's confidential information or ask others to do so, but the company dropped its claim for damages, which at one stage totaled $600 million.
The case began in 2020. Adani did unsuccessful application conduct an unannounced search of the Pennings family home in June 2020 for possible evidence that he had received confidential information related to the Carmichael coal mine.
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Court documents in the case detail that Adani hired a private investigator to surveil the activist and his family members, including taking photographs of him walking his then nine-year-old daughter to school.
Adani then filed a civil lawsuit against Pennings, the national spokesman for the Galilee Blockade group, alleging that he was attempting to disrupt the Galilee Blockade group's activities. Carmichael Coal Mineits suppliers and contractors.
In 2023 Adani dropped part of his claim that Pennings illegally gained access to classified information.
The longtime activist has repeatedly called the company's lawsuit a Slapp lawsuit: strategic lawsuit against public participation.
At a news conference Thursday, he said it was the largest, longest and most expensive Slapp suit in the country's history. He accused the company of making an example of him in order to scare other opponents of his project.
“As far as I'm concerned, the Slapp corporate lawsuits are simply an affront to democracy,” he said, calling on the government to take action to ban them, as has happened in American states and Europe.
Adani said Pennings had damaged its business. The company said his actions led to the firing of several contractors, including drilling company Downer.
It alleged that he “organized a sustained campaign” against the Carmichael project, urging employees to give him classified information, and that he used it to harass contractors.
Pennings agreed not to receive Adani's confidential information or ask others to obtain it.
Mick Crowe, chief operating officer of Bravus Mining & Resources (an Australian subsidiary of the Adani Group), said the company was pleased Pennings had agreed to the commitment.
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“We filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court to stop Mr. Pennings from harassing and intimidating our employees and contractors,” he said.
“This damages claim was never about money. All we wanted was for Mr. Pennings to stop trying to obtain our confidential information and use it to harass and intimidate our contractors and suppliers into stopping working with us.
“Over the years, a number of large companies have left us because of his election campaign.
“Some of those who stayed with us had to spend money on security to protect themselves from protests, lockdowns and office break-ins.”
With a five-year injunction preventing him from campaigning against the company now lifted, Pennings said he intends to immediately return to direct action against the mine.
