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An Etna Green business has filed a civil plenary against the town of Etna Green after the business alleged the town is failing to provide it with proper, stable electrical power.
In the plenary filed Feb. 27, Winona Powder Coating Inc. is listed as the plaintiff and is being represented by Thomas A. Brodnik and Paul L. Jefferson, SLS Group, Carmel. The town of Etna Green is listed as the defendant.
The suit states Winona began its operations at its Etna Green facility in August 2013, with the town of Etna Green owning and operating its own electrical power and transmission facilities. Winona Powder Coating is one of the town's electrical customers.
"Winona is informed and believes that it is the largest user of electricity provided by the town," states the suit.
Winona Powder Coating alleges since it began operating in Etna Green, the business has experienced repeated interruptions to its electrical power. It states the business would alert the town to these interruptions by contacting utility workers employed by Etna Green at the time.
"Unfortunately, the two utility workers employed by the town were no longer employed as of approximately the early 2020s," states court documents. "The town did not replace either of the utility workers with similarly qualified individuals."
The suit states power is provided by the town to Winona in a "three-phase" system. When the system lost a phase, it often resulted in damage to the business' equipment. In response, the town installed a breaker that cut off all power to Winona when a phase was lost.
"This provided an amount of protection to Winona's equipment, although cutting off all power still meant that Winona experienced a power outage," states the suit.
The breaker in question is also located on private property owned by another unnamed commercial business and is inside a fenced perimeter. When the breaker cuts off power, town representatives have to enter the other business' property to reset it.
"If no one is working at the other commercial business, such as nights and weekends, the town must contact the commercial business to have its security personnel open the gate to allow access to town personnel, resulting in longer outages to Winona," states the suit.
In May 2025, Winona Powder Coating CEO Jamie Visker attended the town's council meeting. At that time, he told council he received no communication on when power would be restored to his business after a tornado hit Bourbon in early April 2025.
Following this, a meeting to tour Winona's Etna Green facility was arranged between the town and Winona. Present at the meeting were Etna Green Council President Heath Roberts, another individual who was a county employee and several Winona employees and representatives, including Visker.
"At that meeting, Winona specifically and expressly requested from Roberts that the town hire a local electric company to handle electricity outages," states the suit.
Court documents state Roberts told Winona representatives he would have to discuss doing so with the Indiana Municipal Power Authority. About a week later, Roberts contacted Visker and said it was "illegal" for anyone other than himself and another town employee to touch the town's electrical system.
"Winona is informed and believes that IMPA has only four crews to service the entire state, again resulting in delays before power is restored to Winona," states court documents.
Winona alleges the power outages are caused by "the misfeasance or malfeasance of the town in the maintenance, servicing, operation and/or installation of electrical power and transmission facilities." The business further alleges the power outages result in "significant harm and damages to Winona," noting the business's equipment has to be restarted after every power outage and employees are paid for time in which they are unable to perform work during the outages.
Winona is suing the town of Etna Green for negligence, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment.
It states the town has breached its duty to Winona, resulting in damages exceeding $60,000.
Winona is demanding judgment in its favor and against the town for "an amount to be determined at trial, for costs, interest and for all other just and proper relief."
