A wave of litigation targeting data centers has surged across the United States, as local communities and environmental groups challenge the rapid expansion of these facilities. Emerging data center litigation is now targeting projects on environmental, land use, nuisance, tort, and civil rights grounds, with mass tort and personal injury claims likely to follow in the coming months.
Challenges to Approvals and Transparency
Since late 2024, lawsuits challenging data center development have increased across the country. The claims generally fall into four categories: zoning and environmental review challenges, transparency and open-records claims, nuisance and property damage claims, and Clean Air Act and emissions claims.
Beginning with Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development v. City of Farmington (December 2024), communities have challenged the approvals of data center construction. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy filed four separate actions in 2025 alleging cities bypassed mandatory environmental review. Similar zoning challenges have since been filed in California, West Virginia, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky, collectively targeting facilities ranging from 147 acres to 1,845 acres.
A separate line of cases targets the alleged secrecy surrounding data center approvals. In Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Advocates sued the Public Service Commission for refusing to disclose electrical load data for Meta’s AI campus. In Missouri, residents filed a twelve-count Sunshine Law complaint alleging that city officials held private briefings and released a twenty-nine-page development agreement on a Friday for a vote the following Monday.
Nuisance, Pollution, and Environmental Impact
Post-construction claims have also emerged. In Newsom & Central VA Marine v. Amazon Data Services, plaintiffs allege that an Amazon data center caused brown water, diminished air quality, excessive noise, and constant blue light flashes. In Oregon, Amazon paid $20.5 million to settle a class action alleging nitrate contamination of a county’s sole drinking water source.
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In a landmark April 2026 case, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a Clean Air Act citizen suit on behalf of the NAACP against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging that twenty-seven unpermitted gas turbines powering its Memphis-area data center have the potential to emit over 1,700 tons of nitrogen oxides, 19 tons of formaldehyde, and 180 tons of fine particulate matter annually—in an area already graded “F” for ozone pollution. The NAACP seeks injunctive relief and civil penalties of up to $124,426 per day of violation.
While data center cooling-tower discharge may contain concentrated salts, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, heavy metals, and potentially per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), a separate study using NASA satellite data found that data centers may raise surrounding land temperatures by an average of 3.6°F—with extreme cases reaching 16.4°F.
Future Risks and Economic Claims
Data center litigation is still in its infancy, but the claims are likely to escalate. Plaintiffs will almost certainly bring noise and light pollution claims—some residents near data centers claim a pervasive “high-pitched whine” that deters them from going outside. Health-related personal injury claims are also probable, as some research links chronic noise and light exposure to hearing loss, insomnia, and diminished quality of life.
Nuisance, mass tort, and class action claims alleging personal injury, property damage, and/or natural resource damages from land temperature increases and contamination of surface water and groundwater from cooling water discharge represent a significant emerging risk. Economic harm claims—driven by the increased electricity and water demand that data centers impose on local infrastructure—are also likely to follow, with one report projecting $225 in additional annual electric costs per household in affected communities.
Given these increased costs, plaintiffs are likely to bring claims under utility statutes, or under consumer protection statutes alleging unfair trade practices through shifting of infrastructure costs to ordinary customers. A recent complaint filed before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) alleging that data centers unjustly shift electricity costs to consumers is an early indicator of the nature of these potential claims. Lawyers handling these complex cases must manage heavy caseloads efficiently to meet tight deadlines.
