A U.S. court has dismissed a racketeering lawsuit launched by Resolute Forest Products against Greenpeace and other environmental groups...Judge Jon Tigar wrote that the defendants' speech "constituted the expression of opinion, or different viewpoints that are a vital part of our democracy."

Resolute lawyer Michael Bowe says the ruling merely requires the Montreal-based paper and forest products company to amend within 21 days its filing to provide more details to back up its claims.In an email, he described the ruling as not a significant setback.

However, Greenpeace says it is confident such an attempt will suffer the same fate as the court's dismissal. In a news release, Greenpeace says the ruling sends a message to corporations that "attacks on core democratic values like freedom of speech and legitimate advocacy on issues of public interest will not be tolerated.