Utah residents sue officials over Kevin O’Leary data center plan

Artificial intelligenceUtah residents sue officials over Kevin O’Leary data center planThe lawsuit, filed by a nonprofit and Box Elder County residents, comes as celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary has agreed to scale back the size of the data center plan.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Kevin O'Leary in Miami Beach, Flo., last month.Romain Maurice / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 5, 2026, 6:09 PM EDTBy Joe KottkeA progressive nonprofit and five Utah residents have filed a lawsuit against government officials and a special entity overseeing Kevin O’Leary’s planned Stratos Project data center, alleging that Box Elder County residents’ rights were violated.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Utah’s Third District Court by the nonprofit Alliance for a Better Utah and the group of anonymous residents. The plaintiffs hope to challenge the constitutionality of the Military Installation Development Authority — a special entity that oversees the data center’s proposal — and its approval of the project, an Alliance for a Better Utah spokesperson said.Attorney David Irvine, who is representing the plaintiffs, alleges that MIDA is exercising powers as an unelected body that “the Utah Constitution never authorized.”“Under the Stratos plan, it would hold permanent, irrevocable control over public health, safety, taxation, and land use across tens of thousands of acres of Box Elder County, with no voter recourse,” he said in a statement.Add NBC News to GoogleKevin O'Leary addresses 'misinformation' on Utah data center project16:06The lawsuit alleges that allowing MIDA to oversee the data center’s development “irrevocably” cuts off Box Elder County citizens’ rights by not allowing sufficient public input in the project.“The Stratos Project Area Plan, and actions taken by MIDA and the Commission to enact the same, puts lawmaking...