A data center developer filed a lawsuit Wednesday, May 27, against Hill County and the three members of the commissioners court who recently voted to enact a one-year data center moratorium.
In the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, RCM Hill, LLC outlined its complaint against the county, Judge Shane Brassell and commissioners Jim Holcomb and Larry Crumpton.
RCM Hill is seeking a court ruling that the county exceeded its authority, and the plaintiff says that the moratorium could expose the county to more than $100 million in potential liability.
The lawsuit states that the company has spent over 16 months and more than $1 million to obtain about 800 acres for a data center. The document says that “Project Aquila” is located in unincorporated Hill County and the company has already contracted to pay over $80 million to four landowners.
RCM Hill claims in the lawsuit that the moratorium is illegal and is preventing the company from moving forward with its obligations.
The company alleges that the county knowingly acted without legal authority when approving the moratorium, citing several examples during the May 12 commissioners court meeting in which members of the court acted against the county attorney’s legal advice and made statements about the action being illegal.
The lawsuit states that the company planned to pay about $100,000 per acre for agricultural land appraised at roughly $7,100 per acre because the land’s value depended on data center development.
The plaintiff says that Hill County previously confirmed that the development did not require the county’s approval, referring back to a letter from the county judge stating that the county is not under a zoning plan and does not require a building permit.
A major part of the lawsuit centers on ERCOT’s “Batch Zero” electric-load planning process for large projects. The company claims that the county moratorium could jeopardize its status with ERCOT, potentially causing a two-year delay in electrification of the project. The lawsuit says that this could cause losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The lawsuit also claims that the county’s action caused discussions with potential investors and tenants to fall apart due to national publicity about the moratorium.
RCM Hill claimed that the county carried out an unconstitutional taking of its property rights, denied due process and took unlawful government action.
The company is asking the court to throw out the moratorium, stop the county from enforcing it and award damages.
County officials had not publicly commented on the lawsuit as of Friday afternoon, May 29. County Judge Shane Brassell said Friday that he is unable to make a public comment on the pending litigation.
