Data center defendants oppose two Birmingham subpoenas

Hoar Construction LLC, Lakeshore Data Center LLC, Nebius Inc. and the City of Birmingham have objected to proposed subpoenas seeking records from Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and Alabama Power Company.

In filings entered Oct. 6, the defendants said the requests exceed the discovery the court authorized ahead of a March 8, 2027, trial over a proposed Birmingham data center. They also argued that the subpoenas could reach attorney-client communications, lawyers’ work product and other confidential records.

The objections remain pending before the court.

Records sought from Bradley Arant

The proposed Bradley Arant subpoena seeks engagement records, agreements, drafts, communications and other documents from the law firm’s client and transaction files.

The defendants cited a Sept. 17 court order stating that the plaintiffs had closed their evidentiary presentation and would proceed on the completed record, except for rebuttal evidence if needed. They argued that the subpoena instead seeks extensive new evidence and would leave the law firm responsible for separating protected records from material that may be subject to discovery.

The defendants want the court to prevent the subpoena from being issued in its current form.

Alabama Power requests contested

The proposed Alabama Power subpoena contains 24 requests. They cover zoning proceedings for a proposed substation and switching station, along with internal communications, draft zoning applications, service agreements, regulatory filings, property records, engineering studies, capacity studies, project costs and construction schedules.

The requests also seek communications involving developers, residents and other third parties. The defendants argued that the subpoena would add evidence on matters the plaintiffs previously presented rather than obtain limited rebuttal material.

They acknowledged that narrower requests for nonprivileged Alabama Power records could be appropriate, but asked the court to block or limit the subpoena as written. ABC 33/40 reported the objections and their scope.