(The Center Square) – Atlanta-based DC BLOX is filing an amended complaint in its challenge to data center regulations enacted by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County after it applied for a data center project, the company told The Center Square.
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson dismissed the company’s lawsuit in August after the Metro Council enacted a moratorium on data centers, blocking its proposed project near the Nashville Zoo.
The company accused Metro officials of refusing to process its permits in what it calls, in court documents, a “targeted attack” that violates federal constitutional protections. It asked the court to issue a declaratory judgment stating the ordinances violate the company’s rights and are void and unenforceable against the company’s project. The company also sought just compensation for the $23 million it spent to purchase the property.
Richardson gave the company 21 days to file an amended complaint, saying his decision had nothing to do with the desirability of building data centers.
“Plaintiff may believe, and is entitled to believe and contend, that it received a raw deal from (or was sandbagged by), the imposition of the Moratorium after it purchased the Property,” Richardson said in his order. “However, a raw deal or sandbagging – real or imagined, without more – does not a federal lawsuit make. Instead, the metaphorical raw deal and sandbagging must involve facts that plausibly suggest actual entitlement to relief, based on one or more comprehensible legal theories, from a court that can and should exercise jurisdiction over the claims arising out of that raw deal and sandbagging.”
The moratorium remains in place through Dec. 1.
Data center moratoriums are becoming common in Tennessee and other states as residents raise concerns about environmental effects, noise levels and utility use. In Memphis, the Memphis City Council on Tuesday delayed a vote on a moratorium until Oct. 20. A crowd began chanting after the vote, prompting Chair Jana Swearengen-Washington to call for the police to clear the room.
Memphis is home to xAI’s Colossus, which generated $3.3 million in tax revenue that was used for nine community projects.
xAI’s Colossus did not receive tax breaks from the city or state.
