The Bitcoin mining company NewRays has filed a lawsuit against a judge and prosecutor in Arkansas, alleging they selectively enforced noise legislation to target its business.

Lawsuit Over Selective Enforcement

On September 26, NewRays filed a complaint with the Arkansas district court. The company accuses Judge Allen Dodson and Prosecutor Phil Murphy of selectively enforcing local noise laws specifically aimed at their crypto mining operations.

In October 2022, NewRays acquired a property in Faulkner County, Arkansas, to establish a data center for cryptocurrency mining. At that time, there were no relevant zoning restrictions or noise limitations in place.

New regulations and complaints

However, after complaints from local residents, new laws were enacted, imposing decibel limits and criminal penalties for violations. NewRays claims that these new regulations conflict with the Arkansas Data Centers Act, a law introduced in April 2023 that protects large-scale data centers and crypto mining operations from discriminatory rules.

According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly coordinated to enforce these regulations, potentially to benefit a civil lawsuit filed by local residents. When NewRays attempted to transfer the civil case to federal court, the district court retained jurisdiction.

Biased approach to crypto companies

Justin Daniels, a partner at the law firm Baker Donelson, stated in an interview that targeting crypto companies is common due to Bitcoin‘s reputation and the criticism it faces for its energy consumption. He noted that artificial intelligence data centers use similar amounts of energy but face less criticism because AI is perceived as having more value than Bitcoin.

The complaint further alleges that as early as June 2023, the county began discussing a "crypto mine ordinance" specifically designed to target data centers and crypto mining operations. According to NewRays, this "Ordinance 23-20" was deliberately crafted to affect only their business, despite other businesses in the area producing more noise.

Seeking court intervention

NewRays has requested that the court issue preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent the enforcement of the ordinance by the defendants. Cointelegraph reached out to Judge Dodson for comment but did not receive an immediate response.