Ostergaard v. Microsoft — data center noise class action (2026)
Ostergaard v. Microsoft Corporation — Putative Class Action over AI Data Center Noise (E.D. Wis.)
Wisconsin · Ostergaard v. Microsoft Corp., No. 2:26-cv-01169-JPS (E.D. Wis. filed July 1, 2026)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Took effect
- July 1, 2026
- Applies to
- Microsoft Corporation, as owner and operator of the Fairwater data center campus, if liability is established.
Three homeowners — Garret Ostergaard, David Wade and Joy Wade — filed a putative class action against Microsoft Corporation on 2026-07-01 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin over noise from Microsoft's 'Fairwater' AI data center on Braun Road in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The complaint alleges the facility, a multi-building campus of roughly 1.2 million square feet requiring hundreds of megawatts, emits unreasonable and excessive noise onto surrounding residential properties through its cooling systems and backup generators, causing loss of use and enjoyment and diminished property value. The pleaded counts are Count I private nuisance — substantial and unreasonable interference alleged to be intentional, knowing, reckless and/or negligent, recurring, ongoing and abatable with ordinary care — and Count II negligence, for negligently constructing, maintaining and operating the facility including inadequate soundproofing.
Who is protected: The proposed class: all owner-occupants and renters of residential property within one and one-half miles of the data center, which plaintiffs say covers over a thousand households.
Legal detail
Docket 2:26-cv-01169-JPS, Judge J.P. Stadtmueller. Diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. §1332; venue under §1391(b). Relief sought: Rule 23 class certification, appointment of class counsel, compensatory and exemplary damages with interest, attorneys' fees and costs, an order holding the noise constitutes a nuisance, an order holding defendant negligent, and injunctive relief. Jury demanded. Plaintiffs represented by Hansen Reynolds LLC and Liddle Sheets PC.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Citation | Ostergaard v. Microsoft Corp., No. 2:26-cv-01169-JPS (E.D. Wis. filed July 1, 2026) |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection |
| Court record | Ostergaard v. Microsoft Corporation, No. 2:26-cv-01169-JPS (E.D. Wis.) — docket and complaint |
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Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
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- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
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- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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