The legal action comes as opposition to the proposed developments remains strong in the community. Some residents said the lawsuit caught them off guard, although O'Neill told Action News in an interview last week that he believes he has the right to develop his property and is willing to spend whatever it takes to do so.
A Montgomery County judge issued an injunction Wednesday, preventing the township from taking any further action on O'Neill's company's data center applications pending a court hearing.
As a result, a planned presentation by the developer that could have set up a Planning Commission vote did not take place.
READ MORE | Developer defends Montgomery County data center proposals amid growing opposition
Developer Brian O'Neill defends Montgomery County data center proposals amid growing opposition
"We are not making a presentation tonight consistent with the court's order," attorney Evan Campbell said.
With that portion of the process on hold, public comment continued. All but one speaker remained opposed to the proposed data centers.
"The rejection of these data centers does not represent a community uniting to defend its interests, but rather ignorance and shortsightedness blocking long-term prosperity, human flourishing," Josh Stevens of King of Prussia said before being met with boos from the audience.
Interviewed by Action News afterward, Stevens said, "I think that many of these debates around data centers ultimately become... seems to be almost a mob of locals complaining that the big scary bully, the land developer, is putting in a new scary thing. It becomes more about emotions than it does about principles. It's more about rhetoric than it is about logic."
RELATED | Proposed King of Prussia data center campus faces renewed scrutiny as review continues
Proposed King of Prussia data center campus faces renewed scrutiny as review continues
He added, "My primary reason for being here is not necessarily to support this data center in particular, but rather property rights in general."
Many residents said they intend to continue fighting back.
"I think O'Neill is discovering that there's all kinds of extremely competent people living in Upper Merion who are working hard to protect our homes," Louise Willis of King of Prussia said.
It was not immediately clear when the court hearing would take place. Township officials said only that it would occur "soon."
Meanwhile, the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors' meeting is still scheduled to proceed Thursday.