AI Lawsuit in New Jersey: DataOne Noise Class Action

A group of Vineland, New Jersey residents has filed a federal class action over the DataOne AI data center, alleging that nonstop industrial noise from the site’s cooling systems and diesel generators has disrupted sleep, driven down home values, and made their yards unusable. The DataOne Vineland noise lawsuit, Montgomery et al. v. DataOne USA LLC, was filed in May 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and is among the first class actions in the country to target an AI data center specifically over noise.

What the Facility Is and Who Owns It

The data center sits at 3963 South Lincoln Avenue in Vineland, Cumberland County. It is being built by DataOne USA LLC, the North American arm of European data center firm DataOne Group.¹ The campus is designed to supply AI computing capacity to Nebius Group N.V. under a five-year, $17.4 billion agreement Nebius signed with Microsoft in September 2025.²

As of early 2026, the site includes a 129,622-square-foot Phase 1 building, with a Phase 2 expansion of roughly 588,000 square feet under construction alongside a power generation building, a chiller building, an administration building, a water treatment plant, and a proposed 1.5-million-gallon liquefied natural gas storage tank.³ The facility is designed to generate about 85 percent of its own power from natural gas on-site, and it is projected to consume up to 20 million gallons of water annually for cooling.⁴

The Noise and the County Violation

Neighbors describe the sound as a constant industrial hum, comparable to a hovering helicopter or the roar of airport fans. It comes primarily from the facility’s cooling systems and diesel backup generators, which operate around the clock.⁵ Residents have reported sleep disruption, anxiety, and an inability to enjoy their homes and outdoor spaces.

On March 10, 2026, the Cumberland County Department of Public Health inspected the site and issued DataOne a Notice of Violation for exceeding the 50-decibel residential nighttime limit between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. under N.J.A.C. § 7:29-1.2(A)2i.⁶ The county acted after receiving repeated complaints from the surrounding neighborhoods. DataOne CEO Charles-Antoine Beyney has said the company is building berms and using trees and mufflers to bring noise below 50 decibels, though residents have remained skeptical that those measures will be enough.⁴

What the Lawsuit Claims

Named plaintiffs Scott Montgomery and Michael Gentile filed the class-action complaint on May 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Case No. 1:26-cv-05972.⁶ The proposed class covers all owner-occupants and renters of residential property within one mile of the data center during the applicable limitations period, which the complaint estimates at roughly 1,013 households.⁵ The amount in controversy exceeds $5 million. The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial.

The complaint sets out three causes of action. The private nuisance claim alleges that DataOne’s design, construction, and operation of the site have unreasonably and substantially interfered with class members’ use and enjoyment of their homes. The public nuisance claim contends that class members suffer an injury distinct from the general public, expressed in diminished property values and lost quality of life. The negligence claim alleges DataOne breached its duty of ordinary care by failing to install adequate soundproofing, acoustic barriers, and low-noise cooling technology.⁶

Where the Case Stands

An amended complaint followed on May 29, 2026. DataOne waived service on June 3, 2026, setting an August 3, 2026 deadline for its answer. On June 12, 2026, Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb ordered the plaintiffs to show cause in writing by June 22 as to why the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The same day, Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill granted three motions permitting out-of-state attorneys to appear for the plaintiffs.⁷ As of mid-June 2026, no substantive rulings had been issued, and jurisdiction remains the immediate procedural hurdle.

Related Concerns About the Vineland Site

Noise is the subject of the class action, but it is not the only complaint residents have raised about the facility. The site sits near the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which supplies water to roughly one million people across South Jersey, and neighbors have questioned whether the facility’s cooling demand will strain local wells during drought conditions.⁴ Some households have reported brown tap water, including at least one account of ruined laundry.⁸

The on-site natural gas engines have prompted air quality objections, and DataOne’s air permit remains pending with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.⁴ Critics have also faulted the approval process. The site sits in an Urban Enterprise Zone, and opponents say the redevelopment designation allowed the project to bypass meaningful public notification. The Environmental Impact Statement was not released until February 24, 2026, after construction and partial operation were already underway.⁹

Roughly 100 residents attended a local rally organized by congressional candidate Bayly Winder, who is calling for a national moratorium on new data center construction.⁴ A community group, Sustain SJ, has formed to track the project, and the Pinelands Alliance is circulating a petition asking Governor Mikie Sherrill to impose a three-year moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals.⁹

How the State Is Responding

The Vineland dispute has fed into a wider statewide reckoning over where AI data centers can go. Pemberton Township became the first New Jersey municipality to ban data centers in February 2026 under Ordinance 10-2026, and Mantua Township adopted its own ban on May 11, 2026.¹⁰¹¹ Monroe Township in Gloucester County planned to remove data centers as a permitted use in its redevelopment plan at a March 2026 meeting, reversing a zoning change adopted the previous June, though it stopped short of an outright ban.

At the state level, Governor Sherrill announced a four-part plan on May 27, 2026 to establish regulatory guardrails for the industry. The plan would require data centers to bring new clean energy online and pay their share of grid infrastructure costs, mandate public reporting of energy and water use, call for statewide standards for community benefits agreements addressing noise, light, and pollution, and impose labor requirements including prevailing wages and local hiring.¹²

In the legislature, Senator Joseph P. Cryan introduced Senate Bill 3611 in February 2026, which would require municipal planning boards to submit data center site plans to the State Planning Commission and the Board of Public Utilities for review before final local approval, and would bar data centers from receiving state economic development subsidies over $25,000.¹³ The bill remains in committee as of mid-2026.

1
Data Centre Dynamics. DataOne Secures Investment From US Concrete Firm
2
Wall Street Journal. Microsoft Signs $17.4 Billion AI Deal With Nebius
3
City of Vineland. DataOne USA LLC Public Hearing Notice
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WHYY. Data Center Artificial Intelligence Vineland New Jersey
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NJ.com. This Nonstop Humming Coming From an AI Data Center Has Pushed NJ Neighbors To Sue
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ClassAction.org. Montgomery et al. v. DataOne USA LLC, Complaint
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PACER Monitor. Montgomery et al. v. DataOne USA LLC
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Yahoo News. Jersey Residents Can’t Even Wash
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Pinelands Alliance. Data Centers
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Pinelands Alliance. Data Center Victories: Local Actions Drive Regional Change
11
Mantua Township. Mantua Township Adopts Ordinance Banning Data Centers
12
State of New Jersey, Office of the Governor. Governor Sherrill Announces Plan for Data Center Guardrails
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New Jersey Legislature. Senate No. 3611