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<\/p>\nA law firm representing the recently denied Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus in Archbald is now targeting Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan and two Valley View school directors in their individual capacities, demanding the three men preserve all of their data-center-related documents and communications ahead of potential litigation against Archbald and its council.\n<\/p>\n
Reed Smith LLP, using its New York City law office, sent preservation notices this week to Gaughan \u2014 an outspoken critic of local data center proposals\u00a0 \u2014 and Valley View School District Board of Education members Thomas \u201cBear\u201d Owen and Joseph Farrell, both of whom represent Archbald at the district. Owen serves as the school board\u2019s secretary and is the husband of Archbald Councilwoman Erin Owen.\n<\/p>\n
Gaughan and Owen received notices dated Monday; Farrell\u2019s was dated Wednesday, according to copies of the documents reviewed by The Times-Tribune.\n<\/p>\n
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Joseph A. Farrell (SUBMITTED)\n<\/p>\n
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Tom Owen (SUBMITTED)\n<\/p>\n
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Joseph A. Farrell (SUBMITTED)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n All three letters use identical language, telling the men they are being put on notice in their individual capacities of their obligations to preserve all \u201chard copy, tangible, or electronically-stored information relating to the subject matter of the prospective Litigations, including but not limited to all communications related to the Litigations, the Application, and data centers generally.\u201d<\/p>\n Archbald Solicitor Jay O\u2019Connor declined to comment whether borough council members received similar notices, citing attorney-client privilege and pending litigation.<\/p>\n Gaughan, who has testified multiple times against Wildcat Ridge, attacked the preservation notice in a statement Thursday afternoon.\n<\/p>\n \u201cApparently, when a community stands up to a billion-dollar industry and wins, the next step is to send in the lawyers. Yesterday, I received a three-page letter from Reed Smith, a massive international law firm representing the developer of the rejected Wildcat Ridge data center project. The letter warns of potential litigation, demands the preservation of an extraordinary range of communications and personal records, and threatens severe legal consequences for failing to comply,\u201d the commissioner wrote. \u201cLet\u2019s call this what it looks like: an attempt to intimidate me and send a chilling message to anyone who dares stand in the way of the data center industry\u2019s ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n Valley View Solicitor Larry Moran Jr. said in a texted statement Thursday that he hopes the notices were sent to the school directors in error.<\/p>\n \u201cIf not, then they are illustrations of a petty intimidation tactic that won\u2019t succeed in any courtroom I\u2019ve been inside,\u201d said Moran, of Joyce, Carmody & Moran in Pittston.\n<\/p>\n \u2018Relevant to the litigation\u2019<\/p>\n Though they correctly address Gaughan, Farrell and Owen regarding their titles with the county and Valley View, respectively, the letters later appear to misidentify the roles of the men, telling all three to preserve any and all documents and communications accessed or used in their roles on the \u201cBorough Planning Commission or Borough Community Development and Economic Committee\u201d related to data centers.\n<\/p>\n Gaughan, a Scranton resident, said he has never served on either the commission or committee; Moran confirmed that neither Farrell nor Owen has served on either the commission or committee.<\/p>\n The notices arrived a week after Archbald council unanimously denied<\/a> Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management\u2019s Dec. 15 conditional use application seeking to build 14 data centers above Archbald\u2019s Eynon and Sturges sections, spanning 574.2 mountainside acres along Business Route 6 and Route 247, or Wildcat Road.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n In a written decision<\/a> explaining its Oct. 21 denial, Archbald council said it determined that Wildcat Ridge \u201cfailed to demonstrate through credible evidence, that the proposed use will not substantially injure or detract from the use of neighboring properties; that traffic will be accommodated in a safe and efficient manner; or the public health will be adequately safeguarded.\u201d<\/p>\n The written decision gave the applicant 30 days to appeal the denial to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. The preservation notices, signed by Reed Smith attorney Jordan W. Siev, reference the likelihood of future litigation.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing last week\u2019s public vote denying the Application, we reasonably foresee litigation against the Borough and the members of the Borough Council of Archbald Borough in their individual capacities (as to each and every such potential Borough and individual Borough Council of Archbald Borough member claim, the \u2018Litigations\u2019),\u201d Siev wrote in the notices. \u201cUpon information and belief, you have documents relevant to the Litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Reed Smith was one of two law firms representing Wildcat Ridge during its conditional use proceedings, which spanned nine hearings and about 26 hours of testimony and oftentimes heated cross-examination. Attorneys from the law firm previously sent all seven<\/a> Archbald council members motions demanding their recusal over allegations of bias<\/a>, contending that even the appearance of bias is grounds for recusal.<\/p>\n
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Opponents of the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus project celebrate the denial of the project at an Archbald Borough Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 at the Borough Building. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n