VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The family-owned Walton Funeral Home is in a David versus Goliath fight with Dominion Energy over land in Virginia Beach, as the business is now in court to fight for the future of its Holland Road property. Wednesday was day two of court proceedings in the case.

Dominion Energy wants to use some of the business’ land for its wind energy program. This week, both sides have been in court over the issue. 

Negotiations between Dominion and Walton Funeral Home have been going on since 2023, and now it’s gone to court for eminent domain, which the utility company has said was the last resort. A jury will have to decide what the fair compensation is for the funeral home.

Walton Funeral Home has been helping grieving families for more than 58 years. 

“We’ve been here almost as long as the city of Virginia Beach has,” said owner Frank Walton. 

He said the transmission lines for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project are not good for business. 

“They have essentially taken all of our trees down off of our property, and they erected these three large monopoles that have a significant number of high-voltage wires going from each pole,” Walton said. 

In Virginia Beach Circuit Court, an appraiser said cutting down trees does not change the value of the property.

Walton disagrees. 

“We’ve relied on that location to provide them with serenity and peace,” Walton said. “And that’s gone now, so it’s devastating.”

In court, the appraiser said the market value does not decrease because trees and shrubs are gone, and added that commercial buyers are not concerned about trees, but rather road frontage, visibility, how many cars drive by and more. 

Walton’s attorney said the big difference is that it’s not a normal business, but a funeral home, adding that families bury their loved ones and say their final goodbyes at Walton Funeral Home. 

“I think that’s all the difference in the world,” said Walton’s attorney Steve Clarke. “And, you know, Frank has been in this business for his whole life. His parents were in it. So he understands what’s important for funeral home properties, and what he had there beforehand was this peaceful, secluded environment. It was a place where people came and they felt comfortable. Now, when people come there in their time of grief, I think they’re going to be distracted by all these power lines.”

Wednesday, a second appraiser had a different opinion, and said the Walton property is now less desirable now that Dominion has taken part of the property with the easement.

“This is a nightmare for a property owner,” Walton said.

Now the eminent domain battle continues, meaning the government, or in this case, a utility company, has the power to take private property for public use. That public use? Dominion says the offshore wind project will provide more than 600,000 homes with clean, reliable power.

Walton said that comes at a cost to his business.

“We had a very serene and calm environment for our customers that would come to the funeral home,” he said. “And that’s all gone.”

10 On Your Side reached out to Dominion, and it said with the ongoing trial, they are not able to comment. 

Clarke told 10 On Your Side he asked the court to dismiss the proceedings. 

“Unfortunately, Dominion, through their testimony, has demonstrated that they’re taking more of the Walton Funeral Home property than they actually need for this project,” Clarke said. “And that’s, I think, unequivocally clear from Dominion’s own witnesses. So we’ve asked the judge to invalidate the taking and dismiss it.”