Activist Ben Pennings declares 'massive victory' as Adani drops $600 million legal battle

Guwahati: The Indian mining company Adani has agreed to end its prolonged legal action against environmental activist Ben Pennings.

Pennings declared victory on Thursday after the Queensland Supreme Court approved orders on Wednesday, bringing a five-and-a-half-year court battle to a close.

The orders prevent Pennings from seeking Adani’s confidential information or asking others to do so. However, the company has dropped its demand for damages, which at one point amounted to $600 million.

The legal dispute began in 2020 when Adani unsuccessfully sought to conduct an unannounced search of Pennings’s family home for evidence that he had obtained confidential information related to the Carmichael coalmine.

Court documents revealed that Adani had hired a private investigator to monitor Pennings and his family, including photographing him walking his then nine-year-old daughter to school.

Adani later filed a civil claim against Pennings, the national spokesperson for Galilee Blockade, alleging he tried to disrupt the Carmichael coalmine’s operations and those of its suppliers and contractors.

In 2023, the company dropped the portion of its claim that accused Pennings of unlawfully accessing secret information.

Pennings has consistently described the case as a SLAPP suit, a strategic lawsuit against public participation.

At a press conference on Thursday, he called it the largest, longest, and most expensive SLAPP suit in Australian history.

He said Adani targeted him to intimidate other opponents of its project and urged the government to ban corporate SLAPP suits, as has been done in parts of the US and Europe.

Adani maintained that Pennings had harmed its business, claiming his actions led several contractors, including drilling company Downer, to end their work.

The company alleged that Pennings orchestrated a campaign against the Carmichael project, encouraging employees to leak confidential information and using it to pressure contractors.

Under the court orders, Pennings has agreed not to obtain Adani’s confidential information or ask others to do so.

Mick Crowe, chief operating officer of Bravus Mining & Resources (Adani’s Australian business), said the company welcomed Pennings’ undertaking.

“We started this legal action in the Supreme Court to stop Mr Pennings from harassing and intimidating our employees and contractors,” Crowe said. “This damages claim was never about the money. We only wanted Pennings to stop trying to access our confidential information and using it to pressure our contractors and suppliers. Over the years, several high-profile businesses ended their work with us because of his campaign. Some who remained had to invest in security to protect themselves from protests, lock-ons, and office invasions.”

With the five-year injunction preventing him from campaigning now expired, Pennings said he intends to resume direct action against the mine.