Ohio Supreme Court rejects Wilmington data center lawsuit initiative

WILMINGTON, Ohio (WXIX) - Wilmington residents opposing the construction of a proposed $4 billion Amazon Web Services data center in the city were dealt a blow Thursday after the Ohio Supreme Court struck down an ordinance that would allow citizens to sue data centers over zoning violations. The Ohio Supreme Court voted dow n a citizen-led plan to regulate data centers , arguing that only the state legislature can authorize such a lawsuit. The ruling was 20-18 and allows the Clinton County Board of Elections to reject the initiative. “What concerns a lot of people is that you had a deal that was done behind non-disclosure agreements, that was negotiated through organizations in Columbus, like Jobs Ohio and the port authority, that aren’t elected by the voters, and they make these deals behind closed doors without getting the input of the people,” attorney Joshua Engal said. Had the Supreme Court sided with Wilmington residents, an initiative would have been on the Nov. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in State ex rel.

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