data center shareholder litigation tracker

overview

the data center and ai infrastructure sector has experienced an unprecedented wave of shareholder litigation in 2024-2026. securities class actions, bondholder suits, and sec enforcement actions have proliferated as the gap between ai infrastructure promises and execution has widened. this tracker documents all identified cases across the sector — from operators and hyperscalers to utilities, supply chain companies, and spac-related collapses.

the litigation wave is driven by several recurring themes: accounting manipulation, overstated ai/hpc capabilities (“ai washing”), construction delays and execution failures, ipo misrepresentations tied to single-customer dependency, and massive capex commitments that outpace revenue growth.

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active securities class actions

settled and dismissed cases

pre-litigation investigations

regulatory and administrative litigation

these cases involve regulatory disputes rather than securities fraud, but are significant to the data center infrastructure landscape.

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litigation by theme

1. ai infrastructure capex and revenue mismatch

the largest and most significant cases involve companies that made aggressive forward-looking statements about ai data center investments and then failed to deliver revenue commensurate with spending.

key cases: oracle (equity), oracle (bondholder), coreweave

pattern: management touts massive ai infrastructure contracts (e.g., oracle’s $300B openai deal) and ramps capex accordingly, but revenue fails to materialize on projected timelines. oracle’s capex ballooned to $50B while reporting negative free cash flow exceeding $10B. separately, oracle bondholders allege the company concealed plans for $38B in additional debt when issuing $18B in bonds.

2. ipo and single-customer dependency

companies that went public on the strength of ai data center narratives and then saw anchor customers pull back.

key cases: fermi, coreweave

pattern: fermi’s entire valuation rested on project matador, a nuclear-powered ai campus. a non-binding letter of intent was characterized as a firm commitment. when the anchor tenant terminated the $150M agreement, the stock collapsed 59% from ipo price. coreweave similarly relied heavily on a single third-party data center developer whose construction delays were concealed for nine months.

3. accounting manipulation and metric inflation

traditional securities fraud involving financial statement manipulation at data center companies.

key cases: equinix, super micro, bigbear.ai

pattern: equinix reclassified maintenance expenses as growth capex to inflate affo by an estimated 22%. super micro faces doj and sec investigations for revenue overstatement, related-party transactions, and sanctions violations. hindenburg research and other short sellers have been frequent catalysts.

4. ai washing — overstated capabilities

companies that misrepresented ai capabilities to inflate valuations.

key cases: iris energy, applied digital, c3.ai

pattern: bitcoin miners pivoting to “ai/hpc” without adequate infrastructure (iris energy’s childress facility spent less than $1M/mw vs. $10-20M/mw industry standard for hpc). companies promoting ai capabilities that don’t match underlying operations.

5. nuclear data center commercialization

the nuclear renaissance has spawned its own litigation as startups struggle to deliver.

key cases: nuscale power, oklo investigation

pattern: nuscale entrusted $495M to entra1, a commercialization partner with no nuclear experience. oklo went public via spac with “no regulator-approved design, no revenue, and no proven commercial viability.”

6. regulatory rate disputes

utilities and data centers fighting over who pays for grid infrastructure.

key cases: talen v. ferc, oma v. puco, vistra/sulphur springs

pattern: ferc rejected behind-the-meter colocation at talen’s susquehanna nuclear plant, citing $140M/year in potential ratepayer cost-shifting. ohio manufacturers challenge aep’s data center tariff. texas ag investigates vistra’s restrictive land covenants blocking data center development.

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sec enforcement and ai washing

the sec created a dedicated cybersecurity and emerging technologies unit (cetu) in february 2025 to focus on ai-related misconduct. “ai washing” is designated an “immediate priority.”

notable enforcement actions:

• presto automation (jan 2025): first ai washing action against a public company. claimed ai “eliminated the need for human order taking” when 70%+ of orders required human agents in the philippines.
• nate, inc. (apr 2025): sec + doj charged founder for raising $42M claiming an ai shopping app when virtually all purchases were completed manually. criminal charges carry up to 40 years.
• delphia/global predictions (mar 2024): first sec ai washing enforcement. investment advisers made false statements about ai use. $400K combined penalties.

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litigation trends and outlook

according to nera economic consulting, dla piper, and skadden:

• ai-related securities filings are accelerating: 7 in 2023, 14 in 2024, 17 in 2025 (8% of all federal securities suit filings)
• short sellers as catalysts: hindenburg (equinix, smci), culper (iris energy), kerrisdale (oklo), wolfpack (applied digital, innodata), j capital (hut 8) have driven many of these cases
• median settlement: $11.5M in ai-related securities cases; average $38.4M
• 2026 outlook: expect continued acceleration as ai capex commitments face revenue scrutiny and more customer contracts are tested

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navigation

by securities class action

• oracle — ai capex securities fraud
• oracle — bondholder class action
• coreweave — data center delays
• fermi — project matador ipo fraud
• nuscale power — entra1 partner fraud
• super micro computer — accounting fraud
• equinix — affo manipulation (settled)
• iris energy — hpc capacity overstatement
• hut 8 — usbtc merger overvaluation
• vertiv holdings — pricing misrepresentation
• applied digital — ai pivot claims
• nvidia — crypto revenue misrepresentation
• c3.ai — revenue guidance miss
• bigbear.ai — spac accounting restatement

by investigation

• microsoft — openai concentration risk
• nvidia — china export controls
• oklo — nuclear spac viability

by regulatory dispute

• talen energy v. ferc — nuclear colocation
• oma v. puco — aep ohio dc tariff
• sulphur springs v. vistra — land restrictions
• mea v. wisconsin psc — meta energy secrecy

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last updated: february 22, 2026 sources: court filings, sec enforcement releases, law firm press releases, financial news, short seller reports