Legal challenges and opposition to data centers rise across the US
Data center developments across the US are facing escalating legal and community opposition, leading to a significant increase in legal work for attorneys. Lawyers are actively involved in both defending developers against lawsuits concerning land use, noise, and environmental impacts, and representing communities filing nuisance cases. This widespread conflict includes over 300 jurisdictions enacting data center moratoriums.
The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States has ignited a surge in legal battles, creating a lucrative niche for land-use attorneys. Jason Morris, a Phoenix-based attorney, has shifted the majority of his practice to data center projects, highlighting the increasing complexity and hostility from city officials and regulators. These legal skirmishes encompass growing litigation over land use, environmental concerns, and noise pollution, with developers and operators frequently fending off lawsuits.
On the other side, plaintiffs' lawyers, like Detroit attorney Laura Sheets, are actively working with local communities and advocacy groups to introduce legal obstacles and file class-action nuisance lawsuits. Sheets has brought four such complaints in different states, alleging continuous noise from cooling systems and generators interferes with residents' property enjoyment and devalues local property. The article notes that over 300 jurisdictions in 44 states have enacted moratoriums against data center construction, further complicating development.
This legal quagmire has led major law firms to form specialized data center and digital infrastructure teams, with energy lawyers being particularly in demand due to the massive power needs of hyperscale AI data centers. The current focus on data center buildouts has even eclipsed clean energy projects in the energy legal sector.
Looking ahead, there is speculation that if local lawsuits continue to impede development, the data center industry may lobby Congress for federal legislation to preempt municipal blocking of new construction, similar to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which addressed cell phone tower siting disputes.