Case Title: Smith and Gaston Funeral Directors v. Dean

Citation: 80 So. 2d 227

Docket Number: 

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1955-03-24T00:00:00Z

Document:
80 So. 2d 227 (1955)
SMITH and GASTON FUNERAL DIRECTORS, Inc.
v.
Alfred DEAN et al.
6 Div. 637.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
March 24, 1955.
Rehearing Denied May 26, 1955.
*228 G. P. Benton, Fairfield, and Wm. L. Clark, Birmingham, for appellant.
Wm. B. McCollough and Kingman C. Shelburne, Birmingham, for appellees.
GOODWYN, Justice.
Alfred Dean and his sister, Sadie Hooper, plaintiffs below and appellees here, brought action against Smith and Gaston Funeral Directors, Inc., defendant below and appellant here, seeking punitive damages for maliciously, intentionally and wantonly trespassing upon the grave of plaintiffs' deceased brother, Will Dean. This appeal is from the judgment of the circuit court rendered pursuant to a jury verdict awarding damages of $2,500. Defendant's motion for a new trial was overruled.
As finally presented to the jury, the complaint consisted only of count 4, which was as follows:
Defendant's demurrer to the complaint being overruled, issue was joined on defendant's plea in short by consent.
It appears from the evidence that plaintiffs obtained a burial policy on the life of their brother, Will Dean, from the Southern Burial Association; that the premiums on this policy were paid by plaintiffs; that when Will died, Alfred turned the policy *229 over to the Southern Burial Association; that Alfred and Sadie then went to Grace Hill Cemetery and personally selected the grave site for Will's burial; that Southern Burial Association, pursuant to its contract with Alfred and Sadie, paid $10 to Grace Hill Cemetery for said burial site; and that Will was buried there on May 5, 1943, Alfred and Sadie being present at the time.
It further appears that, shortly after Will's burial, Alfred, for himself and Sadie, arranged with the cemetery caretaker for placement of a concrete slab on Will's grave. When placed, the slab covered the grave site sold by Grace Hill Cemetery for Will's burial except for a space at the foot which was left open for flowers or grass. The slab was rectangular in shape and was supported by a "curb", 18 to 20 inches thick, which extended into the ground about 10 inches and was about 9 or 10 inches above ground. At the head of the slab there was a raised "head piece made out of concrete" inscribed with Will's name, his date of birth and death, and with the words "At Rest". From the time of the burial until the early part of 1950, Alfred visited Will's grave some 40 to 50 times, at more or less regular intervals, and kept the grave free of weeds. During this time, Alfred was a resident of Jefferson County, Alabama, and Sadie resided out of the State. At the time of Alfred's last visit in 1950 the grave marker was clearly visible and was 8 or 10 inches above the top of the ground. He testified that about a year later he went to the cemetery to visit the grave but was unable to locate it; that when he went to the spot where he had been going he "didn't see anything, no marker or nothing", "didn't see anything but the green grass and the ground, and * * * didn't see any marker whatsoever", "wasn't nothing there visible but the ground and grass", and that "not a bit" of the concrete slab was visible. He made inquiry of the caretaker as to the grave but they were unable to locate the grave site until several days before the filing of this suit on January 22, 1952.
It further appears that the defendant acquired the Grace Hill Cemetery in 1948 and during the months of May, June, July and August, 1950, cleared that part of the cemetery where Will's grave was located of an accumulation of weeds, grass and vines. This work was done both by manual labor and by machine. After Will's grave site was located, it was found that the slab had been broken in several places and been caused to settle.
The position taken by defendant is that "the plaintiffs did not establish the elements essential to the maintenance of an action of trespass, as distinguished from an action of trespass on the case", because plaintiffs failed to prove their title to or actual possession of the grave site. Incident to that contention, defendant takes the further position that since, as contended, the action is one in case and not in trespass, the cause is barred by the statute of limitation of one year, Code 1940, Title 7, Sect. 26, and does not come within the limitation of six years, Code 1940, Title 7, Sect. 21. Section 21 provides that "actions for any trespass to real or personal property" are barred unless commenced within six years. Section 26 provides for a limitation of one year for "actions for any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising from contract, and not herein specifically enumerated".
It is apparent that if the action is in case it is barred by the statutory limitation of one year; if in trespass it is not barred. There is no difficulty in reaching the conclusion that the action is in trespass and, hence, is not barred. Southern Railway Co. v. Sanford, Ala.Sup., 76 So. 2d 164, 166, 167; Crotwell v. Cowan, 240 Ala. 119, 121, 198 So. 126.
The principle discussed in the specially concurring opinion in Holder v. Elmwood Corporation, 231 Ala. 411, 165 So. 235, has no application here. In that case, the damages were for mental suffering which distinguishes the discussion there made from the case now before us, which, as we have noted, seeks only punitive or exemplary damages. We take occasion here to note that the special concurrence in that case was by only three members of the court.
*230 One of the errors assigned is the action of the trial court in overruling the demurrer to the complaint (Count 4, supra). The specific objections to Count 4 are that "it fails to contain a description of the locus in quo sufficient to put defendant on notice of same"; that it fails "to give the location of the grave site alleged to have been trespassed upon"; and that "it also fails to give the name of the deceased brother alleged to have been buried in the grave in question". In Bessemer Land & Improvement Co. v. Jenkins, 111 Ala. 135, 18 So. 565, 567, 56 Am.St.Rep. 26, a father brought an action of trespass quare clausum fregit for unlawfully invading a burial lot and exhuming and carrying away the body of his child. Examination of the original record discloses that there was no allegation as to the name of the child. The premises upon which the trespass was said to have been committed were thus described in the complaint:
A demurrer taking the point that the premises were not described with sufficient definiteness was overruled. In holding that the demurrer was properly overruled, this court, per Haralson, J., said:
On authority of that case, we conclude that overruling the demurrer to the complaint in the instant case was without error.
We come now to consider the principal question presented, that is, whether plaintiff's had such an interest in the plot as will support their action of trespass. Our view is that they did. While it does not appear that there was any sort of deed or conveyance executed by the cemetery owners to the plaintiffs, or to the Burial Society for plaintiffs' benefit, it is not controverted that a valuable consideration was paid to the cemetery owners for the right of burial and that Will Dean was buried in the plot with the knowledge and consent of the owners.
One who buys the privilege of burying his dead kinsmen in a public cemetery thereby acquires no general right of property. He acquires only the right to bury the dead, for he may not use the ground for any other purpose than such as is connected with the right of sepulture. Beyond this, his title does not extend. He does not acquire, in the strict sense, an ownership of the ground; all that he does acquire is a right to use the ground as a burial place. However, when a purchaser has thus acquired possession, or the right thereto, such possession is exclusive in him as long as the cemetery is lawfully used for burial purposes. And so well recognized is that right that he may maintain trespass quare clausum fregit against anyone unlawfully interfering with the same whether by the owner of the fee or by a stranger. Bessemer Land & Improvement Co. v. Jenkins, 111 Ala. 135, 147, 18 So. 565; Dwenger v. Geary, 113 Ind. 106, 14 N.E. 903; Jacobus v. Congregation of Children of Israel, 107 Ga. 518, 33 S.E. 853, 73 Am. *231 St.Rep. 141; Kelly v. Tiner, 91 S.C. 41, 74 S.E. 30, 33; Matthews v. Forrest, 235 N.C. 281, 69 S.E.2d 553, 556; Johnson v. Kentucky-Virginia Stone Co., 286 Ky. 1, 149 S.W.2d 496, 498; Brunton v. Roberts, 265 Ky. 569, 97 S.W.2d 413, 415, 107 A.L.R. 1289; Mansker v. City of Astoria, 100 Or. 435, 198 P. 199, 205, 199 P. 381; 10 Am.Jur.Cemeteries, Sect. 22, pp. 503, 504; 14 C.J.S., Cemeteries, § 36, pp. 95, 96. For annotation, see 172 A.L.R. 554.
As thus stated in Bessemer Land & Improvement Co. v. Jenkins, supra:
The Supreme Court of Georgia quoted the foregoing approvingly in Jacobus v. Congregation of Children of Israel, supra [107 Ga. 518, 33 S.E. 854], and there said:
From Kelly v. Tiner, supra [91 S.C. 41, 74 S.E. 33], is the following:
The Supreme Court of North Carolina, in the course of its opinion in Matthews v. Forrest, supra [235 N.C. 281, 69 S.E.2d 556], had this to say:
In Johnson v. Kentucky-Virginia Stone Co., supra, it was held that although plaintiffs did not own the fee in the land occupied by their brother's grave, they nevertheless had a right which could not be unlawfully destroyed or disturbed by the owner of the fee; that such right is sometimes referred to as a mere easement, privilege, or license, but that it is, however, a right which entitles the next of kin of the dead person to maintain an action against the owners of the fee or strangers who, without right, knowingly and wantonly disturb the grave.
From Brunton v. Roberts, supra [265 Ky. 569, 97 S.W.2d 415], is the following:
The Supreme Court of Oregon had this to say in Mansker v. City of Astoria, supra [100 Or. 435, 198 P. 205]:
From 10 Am.Jur., Cemeteries, Sect. 22, pp. 503, 504, supra, is the following:
The following is from 14 C.J.S., Cemeteries, § 36, pp. 95, 96, supra:
Evidence was offered on behalf of plaintiffs tending to show disturbance by defendant, its agents or employees, of other graves in the same cemetery at or about the same time the trespass here involved was alleged to have been committed, all as part of a plan to "renovate" the cemetery. Defendant insists that it was prejudicial error to overrule its objections to such evidence. With this we cannot agree. The fact that other graves in the same cemetery were disturbed at or about the same time as the alleged trespass to Will's grave was relevant, it seems to us, as bearing on the issue of maliciousness and wantonness. As stated in 20 Am.Jur., Evidence, Sect. 303, p. 281:
One of the grounds of the motion for new trial was that the verdict of the jury was excessive. The argument in support of this ground is thus stated in defendant's brief:
We do not understand defendant to question the propriety of the trial court's action in refusing to receive the first verdict and instructing the jury to retire again for further consideration. This was in accord with approved procedure. City of Tuscaloosa v. Fair, 232 Ala. 129, 135, 167 So. 276; Foster v. Prince, 224 Ala. 523, 524, 141 So. 248; City of Birmingham v. Hawkins, 196 Ala. 127, 131, 132, 72 So. 25; Higginbotham & Co. v. Clayton & Webb, 80 Ala. 194, 195; Allen v. State, 79 Ala. 34, 39. The argument seems to be that since the first verdict attempted to make an award of actual or compensatory damages in the amount of $1,000 that fact is sufficient to show that the jury, in rendering *234 the final verdict of $2,500, included in such verdict an amount of $1,000 for actual or compensatory damages. For that to be said would be to speculate not only as to what occurred in the jury room but also as to the mental processes of the jurors in arriving at this final verdict. That verdict was responsive to the issues and in conformity with the court's instructions. We would not be warranted in assuming that the jury included in that verdict any element of damages not responsive to the issues and instructions of the court. If the verdict as finally rendered should be considered excessive, that would be something to be determined without regard to the recitals in the first verdict.
We have carefully reviewed the evidence. As we see it, a jury question was presented on the issues of wantonness, maliciousness and intent in committing the trespass. We do not find any basis for disturbing the jury's findings in favor of the plaintiffs on these issues, although such issues might well have been resolved in favor of defendant.
Nor do we think we would be justified in reducing the amount of the award, as being excessive, particularly in view of the trial court's refusal to do so on motion for new trial. Pertinent here is the following from Alabama Water Service Co. v. Harris, 221 Ala. 516, 519, 129 So. 5, 8:
We here note that some cases make a distinction between "private" and "public" cemeteries. It is our view that Grace Hill Cemetery, though privately owned, is properly classified as a "public cemetery" and we have dealt with it here as such. As stated in Parker v. Fidelity Union Trust Co., 2 N.J.Super. 362, 63 A.2d 902, 916, 917:
The following is from City of Wichita v. Schwertner, 130 Kan. 397, 286 P. 266, 268:
It follows, from what we have said, that the judgment appealed from is due to be affirmed. It is so ordered.
Affirmed.
LIVINGSTON, C. J., and LAWSON and SIMPSON, JJ., concur.