Decatur County hires Barnes & Thornburg to defend zoning board in solar project lawsuit

Sept. 17, 2025 — Decatur County commissioners voted at a special session Sept. 17 to retain Barnes & Thornburg as outside counsel to defend the countyBoard of Zoning Appeals(BOZA) decision after a petition for judicial review was filed by a solar developer. The motion carried after commissioners spoke in favor of outside counsel. A staff member said he will deliver files to the firm first thing tomorrow.

County officials said the petition was filed in Jennings County after the BOZA decision on Aug. 6, 2025. A commissioner said the county received notice of the petition on Sept. 8 and that the statutory response period gives the county roughly 23 days from that notice, putting a practical response deadline around Oct. 1. "My review of the complaint that was filed in Jennings County by [the developer] on 09/04/2025 raises questions that I believe that we need to vigorously defend the decision that was reached by the BOZA on 08/06/2025," the lead speaker said. "I believe that it's in the county's best interest to pursue outside counsel, for the purpose of defending the decision that was made by the BOZA."

Commissioners and other attendees said the zoning and solar issues raised by the complaint involve relatively specialized legal questions and that the county's regular counsel may lack depth in this subject. One commissioner noted prior work with Barnes & Thornburg on the related economic development agreement for the county's solar project and recommended returning to that firm because it is already familiar with the matter. "They're already familiar with it. They've already represented us specifically on this issue," a speaker said.

A motion was made and seconded to retain Barnes & Thornburg to represent Decatur County and to defend the BOZA decision against the developer's petition for judicial review. "All those in favor, say aye," a commissioner said; an "Aye" was recorded and the motion carried. A staff member named Doug said he would send the firm's contact and files to Barnes & Thornburg the next morning.

No written contract amount or fee arrangement was presented at the meeting, and commissioners did not vote on a spending authorization at the session. The decision recorded at this special session was limited to retaining the firm for representation and initiating contact; further contract details were not specified. The petition for judicial review and the BOZA decision dates were discussed at the meeting as the factual basis for the county's need to respond.