Bitcoin miner Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) is being sued over its plans to build an HPC data center in Clarington, Ohio, as a neighboring tenant on the property alleges that the plans violate its contractual rights to the leased space, according to court documents Blockspace reviewed.
Steel fabricator American Heavy Plate Solutions (AHP), which leases 9.9 acres out of the 100 acre Hannibal Industrial Park where Bitdeer also operates, is suing the bitcoin miner and the landowner, Monroe County Port Authority, in the Common Pleas Court of Monroe County, Ohio.
The company argues that Bitdeer’s construction of an HPC data center on the site will disrupt shared infrastructure guaranteed by the 30-year lease American Heavy Plate Solutions signed in February 2018.
In June 2024, Bitdeer announced a 30 year lease with the Monroe County Port Authority and secured 570 MW for its portion of the property. Bitdeer depicted the site as a “priority” for its high performance computing (HPC) plans in 2025 business updates, and it was targeting Q2 2027 for the site’s completion as recently as January of this year. In its latest business update, Bitdeer commented that the “timing of power availability and construction may be affected” by the the current litigation and altered the site’s timing status as “[t]o be updated.”
American Heavy Plate Solutions argues that development of Bitdeer’s data center would impede its operations by interfering with power equipment, utilities, internet and telephone lines, roadways, short-line railways, and other infrastructure that it needs to conduct business.
Accordingly, the steel manufacturer claims that Bitdeer’s construction violates a restrictive covenant in its lease with Monroe County Port Authority. According to court documents, the clause stipulates that the landlord cannot lease land to another tenant who would negatively impact American Heavy Plate Solutions’ operations without the company’s consent.
“Landlord covenants and agrees that Landlord will not grant any person or entity any easement, license, lease or similar rights of use or occupancy with respect to any portion of the Hannibal Property that adversely affects Tenant’s use and/or occupancy of the Hannibal Property during the Term, without Tenant’s prior written consent,” a copy of the lease agreement included as evidence in the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit says that this infrastructure exists outside of American Heavy Plate Solutions’ leased area but that its use is guaranteed by the agreement. Further, the company claims to have spent “over $100 million in improvements, equipment and operations at the Hannibal Property.”
American Heavy Plate Solutions continues to argue in the suit that it “was never asked to consent, and in fact has never consented, to Bitdeer’s lease or Bitdeer’s proposed activities as required by the AHP Lease.”
The current landowner, Monroe County Port Authority, purchased the land from Hannibal Real Estate LLC in December 2021, and the suit says that the new owner “is bound by the provisions, covenants, and conditions” of lease agreement American Heavy Plate Solutions signed in 2018.
The suit claims that the Monroe County Port Authority first notified American Heavy Plate Solutions that Bitdeer was interested in the property in 2023, adding that “Bitdeer’s ultimate development and occupancy intentions for the Hannibal Property were far more extensive than AHP was led to believe.” American Heavy Plate Solutions alleges that the landlord initially said that Bitdeer was planning to install bitcoin mining containers on-site and modify the roof of its leased space.
With the suit, American Heavy Plate Solutions is seeking declaratory judgement regarding its lease’s restrictive covenant, permanent injunctive relief to bar Bitdeer’s data center constructions, and equitable relief for any orders that will reinforce its leasing rights.
Blockspace contacted both Bitdeer and American Heavy Plate Solutions for comment and will update this article once received.
