N.J. Superior Court Judge James Swift, sitting in Cumberland County, has scheduled a motion hearing for September 25 to dismiss a noise lawsuit filed by nearby residents against DataOne, under construction on South Lincoln Avenue in Vineland. The data center has asked has asked the court to dismiss the case and also petitioned to reject the residents’ motion to have the case certified as a class action.
Residents (including Steve Brown, Scott Montgomery, and Michael Gentile) filed the lawsuit in June, claiming continuous industrial humming sounds disrupt their properties up to a mile away. Plaintiffs’ attorney Laura Sheets stated that the dismissal request will be strongly opposed. The residents are asking Judge Swift to certify the case as a class action, which would legally allow other affected neighbors to formally join the lawsuit and possibly produce a large settlement or judgement.
The primary damages and remedies requested in the complaint is compensation for diminished property value. The lawsuit claims that the constant, industrial-scale noise has negatively impacted and damaged the property values of the roughly 1,800 residential parcels within the 1.5-mile radius.
Financial damages are also being sought for the residents’ lost ability to safely use and enjoy their properties, citing that the noise prevents them from sleeping or spending time outside in their backyards.
DataOne’s primary defense argues that the noise is temporary and related to ongoing construction, and that the plaintiffs lack sufficient evidence to prove a long-term legal nuisance. By framing the issue as an unavoidable, temporary part of building a multi-billion-dollar project, the company is arguing that the threshold for a permanent nuisance lawsuit has not been legally met.
