Law Commons^™

Recent Court Filings Reveal $17 Million In Payments From Dakota Access Llc To Tigerswan, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, October 1, 2021— The private security firm TigerSwan received over $17 million from Dakota Access LLC for its work related to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, recent court filings and documents produced in response to a judicial order in the ongoing litigation Thunderhawk v. County of Morton reveal. Plaintiffs have alleged in that suit that TigerSwan acted in close cooperation with law enforcement to enforce discriminatory police practices.

American Civil Liberties Union Files Amicus Brief In Standing Rock Thunderhawk Litigation, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, February 2, 2021 — Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), together with its North Dakota affiliate (ACLU of ND), filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the Thunderhawk plaintiffs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Amicus Curiae or “friend of the court” briefs are filed by third parties with an interest in the litigation, and can carry significant weight with the court when submitted by organizations with expertise in an issue salient to the case — such as with the ACLU and free speech.

The ACLU brief centers on the key issue …

Standing Rock Thunderhawk Litigation Advances In Appeals Court And In Discovery Toward Trial, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, January 25, 2021 — Advancing yet another step toward trial set for August 2021, the Standing Rock Thunderhawk litigation is now in discovery against Morton County and TigerSwan, LLC, and briefed on qualified immunity at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Standing Rock Legal Team At Columbia Law School Challenges Delaying Trial For Qualified Immunity Appeal, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, October 26, 2020 — Counsel for Standing Rock civil rights plaintiffs are challenging any additional trial delay, arguing that neither the doctrine of qualified immunity nor its underlying policy goals support staying discovery in Thunderhawk v. County of Morton, North Dakota. Trial has been set for August 16, 2021.

Federal Court Sets August Trial Date For Standing Rock Civil Rights Lawsuit, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, September 25, 2020 — Judge Daniel M. Traynor (U.S. District Court for North Dakota) has set aside two weeks for trial starting August 16, 2021 for Thunderhawk v. County of Morton, a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging the five-month discriminatory closure of Highway 1806 at the height of the NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock. The trial was set at a recent status conference before Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller (U.S. District Court for North Dakota), at which swift discovery deadlines were also imposed.

Federal Court Allows Civil Rights Lawsuit Challenging Violations At Standing Rock, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, September 3, 2020 — In a significant victory for critics of governmental overreach, Judge Daniel M. Traynor (U.S. District Court for North Dakota) denied motions to dismiss filed by state and county law enforcement defendants and the private security firm, TigerSwan LLC. As a result, the Thunderhawk v. County of Morton civil rights lawsuit, brought by plaintiffs Cissy Thunderhawk, Wašté Win Young, the Reverend John Floberg, and José Zhagñay against North Dakota government officials and TigerSwan, will move forward on the claim that the plaintiffs and the class were denied their constitutional rights to Free Speech.

Standing Rock Defendants Move To Dismiss On Basis Of Factual Disputes, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, February 15, 2019. Today, state and county defendants in Thunderhawk v. County of Morton et al. filed motions to dismiss plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint. In their court filings, defendants attach 160 exhibits contesting the peaceful nature of the NoDAPL movement, arguing that their discriminatory closure of Highway 1806 was factually justified. Defendants ask the United States District Court to accept their factual account of the NoDAPL movement over the plaintiffs’.

Standing Rock Plaintiffs File First Amended Complaint, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, February 1, 2019—Today, Cissy Thunderhawk, Wašté Win Young, the Reverend John Floberg, and José Zhagñay filed their First Amended Complaint in response to state and local defendants’ motions to dismiss. The amended complaint clarifies the civil rights violations caused when defendants closed, to the Tribe and its supporters, the primary road connecting the Standing Rock Reservation to both Bismarck and to numerous public sites of great expressive and religious significance. The plaintiffs are represented by Columbia Law School Lecturer in Law Noah Smith-Drelich and Professor Bernard E. Harcourt through the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought.

Columbia Law School Lecturer Noah Smith-Drelich And Professor Bernard E. Harcourt Challenge Standing Rock Civil Rights Violations, Columbia Center For Contemporary Critical Thought

Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

New York, October 26, 2018—Cissy Thunderhawk, Wašté Win Young, and the Reverend John Floberg filed a class action lawsuit on Oct. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota challenging a number of civil rights violations that arose during the Standing Rock movement to oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). They are represented by Columbia Law School Lecturer in Law Noah Smith-Drelich and Professor Bernard E. Harcourt, founding director of the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought.