LAFAYETTE, IN — Nearly a year after three West Lafayette residents filed civil lawsuits to block microchip manufacturer SK hynix, a trial date has been set for December.
West Lafayette residents Lora Williams, Karl Janich and Sean Sasser filed suit June 5, 2025, against SK hynix, West Lafayette, Tippecanoe Area Plan Commission and Purdue Research Foundation. The purpose of the lawsuits is to stop the microchip plant from opening. Construction already has started on the plant west of Salisbury Street, east of Yeager Road and north of Kalberer Road.
The trial dates of Dec. 1, 2 and 3 were set near the end of a three-hour hearing Thursday that included legal arguments over summary judgment motions on various points, as well as Williams’ arguments that defendants are not providing discovery she needs to build her case.
For example, more than an hour of Thursday’s hearing was spent on the summary judgment issue of whether the legal notice for public meetings to rezone the land north from residential to industrial met the state’s legal requirements.
Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Sean Persin took the issue under advisement.
Persin will have to rule on each of various other motions for summary judgments over legal issues before the final pretrial hearing on Oct. 26.
As to whether the defense teams are stalling on releasing discovery to Williams’ attorney, they said they are not. They responded to his motions, but attorney Thomas Williams, believing they have the specific details he’s asked for, did not like their response, according to arguments in Thursday’s hearing.
Persin noted that Thomas Williams’ motions for discovery are overly broad, and he asked Williams to refine his requests. Williams believes his discovery requests are appropriate and seemed inclined not to narrow his request, so Persin said he will go through Williams’ motions for discovery and rule on each one, refining the search or denying the motion within 30 days.
Persin granted the plaintiffs’ permission to file amended complaints, which might include a temporary injunction order to stop construction. The defense teams to file new responses to the amended complaints after they are filed.
By Oct. 26, Persin expects all witnesses and evidence to be shared between the parties. A final pretrial hearing will be 1:30 p.m. that day.
The parties indicated they believe the trial will take two or three days, and Persin said he can render his decision by early 2027.
The next hearing is 9 a.m. Sept. 29.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Trial against SK hynix microchip factory scheduled for December
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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