A Shelby County judge's order blocking Alabama Power from entering Fenn Church's property is now headed to the Alabama Supreme Court, as the utility appeals a preliminary injunction that has stalled part of its $248 million transmission line project. Alabama Power argues the circuit court erred by blocking access to land the company says it has a legal right to enter under state condemnation laws, while Church's attorneys say the fight is about protecting his home, his privacy and the natural landscape surrounding it.
The dispute centers on roughly 0.55 miles of Church's land in Calera, a small slice of a larger transmission corridor that, according to WBMA, spans either 74 or about 75 miles depending on the report, with Alabama Power putting the total project cost at $248 million. The company is seeking an easement, not outright ownership, to build the Autaugaville-East Pelham 230-kilovolt line, which it says is needed to relieve overloading on the existing electric grid and improve the flow of electricity between the Montgomery and Birmingham areas, according to CBS 42.
Alabama Power contends it has already paid the condemnation award into court and posted a bond, steps it says authorize entry onto the property while the underlying condemnation case is still being appealed. The company argues Church and his co-defendants have an adequate remedy through monetary compensation, meaning money, not an injunction, should settle the matter. Church is challenging the condemnation itself in Shelby County Circuit Court, a fight that predates the current injunction battle.
Two-Day Hearing Produced a Sweeping Order
Circuit Judge Jonathan Spann's preliminary injunction followed a two-day hearing in September and found that Church had met the legal requirements for such an order. The court considered concerns involving Church's home, privacy and safety, along with the fate of Buxahatchee Creek and old-growth trees on the property, the same factors cited in reporting from WBMA.
According to al.com, Spann's order found that Church had provided testimony and evidence sufficient to show he would suffer immediate and irreparable harm without the injunction, that he lacked an adequate legal remedy, and that he was likely to succeed on his underlying claims. The judge went further, ruling that Alabama Power's location selection for the transmission line was “arbitrary and capricious.” Alabama Power was ordered not to enter Church's property “unless and until” the court said otherwise, and Church was ordered to post a $10,000 bond as a condition of the injunction.
Utility Says the Clock Is Running Out
Alabama Power has said crews need access by October 19 to keep the broader project on schedule for a May 2027 completion. The company has framed the delay in stark terms, with a statement reported by 1819 News arguing that “the delay to Alabama Power's work on this important public service project is damage, not only to Alabama Power, but also to its customers, and its public service obligations.” That outlet also reported the company's framing that a 0.55-mile segment now stands between completion of the $248 million project and service to roughly 1.6 million customers.
Before the injunction fight escalated, Alabama Power engineers testified that the route through Church's property was chosen based on the land's topography and the need to maintain 1,000-foot buffer zones from existing homes, per the same CBS 42 report. Church's lawyers have said they offered alternative routes that would avoid his property, but Alabama Power's attorneys countered that those alternatives were not feasible. The company told ABC 3340 that it reduced the number of planned access roads following a meeting with Church in April 2026, though the core routing dispute remains unresolved.
Case Now in the Hands of Alabama's Highest Court
With Spann's injunction in place, Alabama Power filed an emergency motion asking him to lift or temporarily pause the order, arguing that state law allows the company to access the property while the condemnation case is being appealed. The dispute has since progressed to an appeal before the Alabama Supreme Court, where Alabama Power is seeking to have the circuit court's order overturned so it can resume work on the Calera segment of the line.
Alabama Power's broader argument throughout the case has been that transmission routes are selected using engineering and environmental factors, including land use, access, topography, safety and reliability, and that the company seeks easement rights rather than ownership of the land it crosses for projects like this one. For Church, whose fight has centered on protecting his home, his land's natural features and his privacy, the case now rests with the state's highest court.
