EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. — A group of residents are suing OpenAI and multiple government officials over the plan to build a massive data center in South Georgia.
The lawsuit, the second filed against OpenAI since the announcement of Project Camellia, accuses OpenAI, the Effingham Development Authority, Effingham county officials and other associated parties of enacting a conspiracy and partaking in racketeering to bring the data center plan to life.
The lawsuit was filed in Effingham State Court by Savage, Turner, Pinckney, Savage, Sprouse & Gilluly on behalf of multiple residents of the county.
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In the lawsuit filed Nov. 6, attorneys said those named as defendants undertook a “concerted effort to keep the massive, multi-billion dollar Project Camellia, the land transaction, and its terms secret from the people of Effingham County until the land was committed and the decisions were essentially made behind closed doors.”
Another lawsuit was filed against the AI company in September by the same firm and on behalf of some of the same plaintiffs, alleging the method of reaching the zoning decision did not comply with open meetings laws and ignored county procedures.
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According to the attorneys, their filing is not meant as an attack on artificial intelligence, or super intelligence as the U.S. government is now officially calling it, but as an “attack on the ways these defendants acted” to secure what was needed to build the project.
“It is a demand for transparency and accountability,” lead attorney Ben Michaud said.
Greg Gilluly, one of the law firm partners, said the way Project Camellia was approved was against the principles of the national government and its local counterparts.
“‘We the People,’ underlies the principle of not only our national government but also our local governments. Government power should come from the consent of the people, not multibillion-dollar corporations having secret meetings with public officials,” Gilluly said. “Transparency in government is the public practice of openly sharing information, decisions, and resource allocations so citizens can hold leaders accountable. Transparency strengthens confidence in public institutions. Without transparency, there is doubt, distrust, and insecurity.”
Among the claims in the lawsuit, residents accuse the defendants of fraudulent concealment, fraud and misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, fraud, breach of mandatory legal duties, procuring injury, and violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the defendants for comment.
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