A rendering of the new, 1.1-million-square-foot data center is planned for Westlake, close to Highway 377. Town of Westlake
A district judge in Fort Worth dissolved a temporary restraining order Friday, Sept. 25, that kept Westlake from voting to approve a data center near homes in Keller, but the court battle isn’t over.
Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick dissolved the temporary restraining order after chastising attorneys representing both sides for submitting around 1,000 pages of documents Thursday night, Sept. 24.
Fitzpatrick told attorneys that there was no way that she could adequately prepare to issue a ruling because she did not have adequate time to study the documents.
Fitzpatrick ended the temporary restraining order and set a hearing for Oct. 23 to consider the lawsuit that the Lakes at Marshall Ridge Homeowners Association filed against the town of Westlake. The city of Keller is an intervener in the suit.
When asked about the judge’s decision to dissolve the TRO, Keller mayor Ross McMullin, who attended the hearing, said the decision didn’t change Keller’s case.
“We are going to keep moving forward and advocate for all of our residents and look forward to presenting our arguments on the 23rd,” he said.
McMullin said that both Keller and Westlake are asking similar questions concerning how close data centers should be to neighborhoods, adding that the state needs to provide guidance to cities.
Westlake spokesperson Jon Sasser said in an email that Westlake was pleased with the judge’s ruling to dissolve the temporary restaining order.
“Westlake is pleased the judge decided to dissolve the temporary restraining order filed by the city of Keller. We are confident the entire dispute will be fully resolved during the upcoming October 23rd hearing. In the meantime, Westlake will continue to follow the directives laid out by Governor Abbott regarding the development of data centers.”
What’s at stake
The Lakes at Marshall Ridge sued Westlake when residents learned the proposed 1.1 million-square-foot data center along U.S. 377 would be built around 550 feet from their homes. The residents argued that they weren’t properly notified, but Westlake argued that the town did not have to notify people outside of the town.
The suit also argued that Westlake didn’t follow proper zoning requirements.
Westlake Mayor Kim Greaves said previously that the land slated for the data center has been zoned for industrial use since the 1990s.
The Marshall Ridge subdivision sits on land that was zoned for industrial use until the Keller City Council changed it to residential in 2015.
Some Westlake residents also oppose the data center.
Linda Bjorn, a former Westlake Planning and Zoning commissioner who is also an intervener in the Marshall Ridge HOA suit, said she is also looking forward to the Oct. 23 hearing.
“We don’t want our people to think that this case was thrown out because the TRO was dissolved,” Bjorn said in an interview following the hearing.
“We are still in the fight. We are just as much in the fight as we were yesterday, and we still have as much of a case and as much legal standing as we did yesterday,” she said.
This story was originally published September 25, 2026 at 4:25 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
With my guide dog Freddie, I keep tabs on growth, economic development and other issues in Northeast Tarrant cities and other communities near Fort Worth. I’ve been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 34 years.