xAI Offers to Buy Southaven Homes Near Noisy Power Plant
The company behind the xAI Southaven power plant is offering to buy homes from neighbors who say the facility’s gas turbines keep them up at night. There’s a catch: homeowners who take the deal have to give up their right to join a pending class action lawsuit over the noise.
Letters from MZX Tech, the xAI subsidiary that runs the Southaven plant, have reached several households in recent weeks, according to reports published Thursday and Friday by the Mississippi Free Press and the DeSoto Times-Tribune.
What the xAI Southaven Buyout Letter Offers
The letter says the company will buy residential property in Southaven through its real estate broker. In return, sellers must sign a release of all claims tied to the lawsuit. The Mississippi Free Press reported that offers are based on Zillow value estimates. The letter did not list specific prices.
In the letter, the company says it “denies all of the allegations against it” but “also requires property for its business purposes.”
Key terms, as reported:
- The offer is voluntary.
- Homeowners who sell must sign a release.
- Sellers could not recover damages in the pending lawsuit or bring future claims against the company.
The Noise Lawsuit Behind the Offer
Southaven residents Jason Haley, Preston Herrington and Taylor Logsdon filed the lawsuit in June in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. They are asking a judge to let them represent a class of neighbors. The complaint estimates more than 10,000 people live in the affected area.
The plaintiffs say the turbines give off a steady mix of high-pitched squealing, roaring, low rumbling and humming that carries into nearby homes. They blame the noise for headaches, lost sleep and lower property values. Readings cited in the case reached about 70 decibels. That is below the 85-decibel level federal health officials link to hearing damage, but some studies tie lower levels to sleep and mood problems.
The suit asks the court to order the company to reduce the noise and to award money damages. It also claims the company’s noise-control efforts have fallen short. Attorneys for the plaintiffs declined to comment on the letter, citing the active case, according to the Mississippi Free Press.
What Comes Next
A first conference is scheduled for Oct. 29 in Oxford, where the court is expected to begin deciding whether the case can proceed as a class action.
This is not the plant’s only legal fight. The NAACP sued in April, claiming the company ran more gas-fired turbines than its permit allowed. The Mississippi Free Press reported the site had 69 turbines as of July 31. State regulators have since set dates to retire the temporary turbines.
Neighbors who get a letter may want to talk with an attorney before signing anything, since the release would end their ability to pursue claims over the plant.
Related: State sets dates to retire temporary xAI turbines | Walls Planning Commission denies data center rezoning
Source: Mississippi Free Press; DeSoto Times-Tribune
