On Monday, September 21, 2026, WJHL reported that ExoticRidge Crypto Company LLC expanded its legal fight against Hawkins County, Tennessee, filing a supplemental complaint that adds new arguments to its existing federal lawsuit over the county’s ban on data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations.
The dispute dates back to March 2026, when ExoticRidge first sued Hawkins County after commissioners approved a 2025 resolution prohibiting data centers and crypto mines within county lines. That measure followed an earlier restriction enacted in September 2025, and commissioners subsequently tightened the rules further with a second ban passed in July 2026.
In its original filing, ExoticRidge contended that the county’s actions were unconstitutional and ran afoul of Tennessee law.
The newly filed supplemental complaint, submitted September 11, introduces an additional argument rooted in the county’s own legislative record. According to ExoticRidge, Hawkins County adopted a resolution in 2023 designating itself a “constitutional sanctuary,” in which it pledged not to enforce certain provisions of the Tennessee Code related to business regulation for public welfare purposes. The company argues that this earlier declaration should have exempted, or grandfathered, its operations from the later bans.
ExoticRidge further alleges that county officials did not rescind the sanctuary resolution until after the company’s complaint had already been filed, suggesting the reversal was a reactive move rather than a previously settled policy. Hawkins County has countered that the constitutional sanctuary designation was never legally valid and carried no binding authority.
The supplemental filing also raises procedural objections, claiming the county violated Tennessee’s County Zoning Act and failed to publish meeting agendas within the timeframe required under the state’s Open Meetings Act.
A jury trial in the case has been scheduled for January 2028.
Source: WJHL
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