Since 1995Attorney · Developer
Sebastian Rucci
Asset forfeiture, land use and data center law. Founder and CEO of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, the company behind the Imperial Valley Data Center.
Huntington Beach, California Contact info
- Admitted in 23 courts
- U.S. Supreme Court bar
- 330 MW AI campus in development
- 1995Admitted to practice in California
- 23Court admissions, state and federal
- 12Federal courts of appeal
- 330MWAI data center campus in Imperial County
About
Sebastian Rucci has practiced law since 1995. His practice centers on asset forfeiture and seizure cases, land use and zoning, and the law of building data centers. He challenges asset forfeitures and seizures throughout the United States and is available as co-counsel with local attorneys.
He is admitted in 23 courts: all of the state and federal courts in California, all twelve federal courts of appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court, and federal district courts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri.
He is also the developer behind the Imperial Valley Data Center, a 330-megawatt campus for AI and high-performance computing on industrially zoned land near Imperial, California, and the lead attorney in the court cases over it.
Featured
ProjectThe Imperial Valley Data CenterA 330 MW hyperscale campus for AI and high-performance computing in Imperial County.imperialdatacenter.com
Court recordThe data center cases and filingsPetitions, briefs, judgments and the writ from the state court cases over the project, as PDFs.ruccilaw.com
VideoData center and land use video librariesThe project overview, the developer’s side of the lawsuit, the 15-day rule and CEQA, water and earthquake design, plus news on data center law.ruccilaw.com- “She’s the tenant from hell.”In the news, 2023The Los Angeles Airbnb caseHe represented the homeowner whose Airbnb guest stayed 575 days without paying. Covered by the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, People and Business Insider.ruccilaw.com
Latest coverage
All coverage
Newsom’s data center laws could reshape Rucci projectHow two state laws signed Sept. 21, SB 886 and SB 887, could change the regulatory path for the project. SB 887 ends categorical CEQA exemptions for data centers from Jan. 1, 2027, and offers faster court review to projects that meet strict environmental and energy standards.Read the article
County ends data center moratorium following court rulingThe Imperial County Board of Supervisors repealed its data center moratorium, Ordinances 1616 and 1618, complying with the court order won by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing.Read the article- IID votes on new electricity tariff for computational loads, not manufacturingIID approved a tariff for customers that need 20 megawatts or more. Sebastian Rucci said the framework is not transparent because it publishes no rate for large-load power.Read the article
- Judge strikes down County freeze on data center approvalsSuperior Court Judge Jeffrey B. Jones entered judgment for Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing on Sept. 4, finding that the County’s two urgency ordinances lacked the findings state law requires. A writ issued Sept. 11 orders the County to set them aside.Read the article
Experience
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Founder and CEO
Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC
Developer of the Imperial Valley Data Center, a 330-megawatt campus for AI and high-performance computing on industrially zoned land near Aten and Clark Roads.
- September 2026: won the judgment that struck down Imperial County’s data center moratorium. The court found that both urgency ordinances lacked the findings state law requires and issued a writ setting them aside (Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC v. County of Imperial, Case No. ECU004800).
- January 2026: filed a federal civil rights suit against the City of Imperial and several of its officials in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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Attorney
The Law Office of Sebastian Rucci, P.C.
Counsel in the federal civil rights case and three state court cases over the Imperial Valley Data Center: the moratorium challenge, the challenge to the data center ban initiative, and the City of Imperial’s CEQA case.
- Challenges asset forfeitures and seizures throughout the United States, and works as co-counsel with local attorneys.
- Represented the homeowner in the Los Angeles “tenant from hell” Airbnb case (2023).
Licenses and court admissions
23 courts, from his own list of bar certificates.
State
- Supreme Court of California
U.S. Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Courts of Appeals
- First Circuit
- Second Circuit
- Third Circuit
- Fourth Circuit
- Fifth Circuit
- Sixth Circuit
- Seventh Circuit
- Eighth Circuit
- Ninth Circuit
- Tenth Circuit
- Eleventh Circuit
- Federal Circuit
U.S. District Courts
- Central District of California
- Southern District of California
- Eastern District of California
- Eastern District of Missouri
- Northern District of Ohio
- Western District of Pennsylvania
- Northern District of Illinois
- Eastern District of Michigan
Other federal
- U.S. Tax Court
Practice
- Asset forfeiture
- Seizure defense
- Civil rights litigation
- Land use and zoning
- CEQA
- Data center development
- Writs of mandate
- Federal court litigation
- Landlord and tenant
- Business law