Mortuary Law Cases
Larson v. Chase,
47 Minn. 307, 310-311, 50 N.W. 238 (1891): Once the invasion of a legal
right to custodianship of a corpse is established, "the law infers some
damage, and, if no evidence is given of any particular amount of loss,
it declares the right by awarding nominal damages."
Rollins v. Phillips,
554 So.2d 1006, 1008 (Ala. 1989): "It is a matter of common knowledge
in civilized society that close relatives and friends possess
deep-seated feelings and emotions regarding the remains of their dead.
The person or persons with the duty of burying a loved one have the
right to see that the body is preserved and their feelings in relation
thereto protected."
Parker v. Quinn-McGowen Co., 262
N.C. at 662, 138 S.E.2d 214: "For any mutilation of a dead body the one
entitled to its custody may recover compensatory damages for his mental
suffering caused thereby if the mutilation was either intentionally or
negligently committed, or was done by an unlawful autopsy."
Christiansen v. Superior Court,
54 Cal.3d 868, 894, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 79. 820 P.2d 181 (1991): mishandling
of a corpse is "likely to cause serious distress to members of the
decedent's immediate family regardless of whether they observe the
actual negligent conduct or injury to the remains of their decedent."
Source: Mortuary Law Cases and Examples
