Overbooked

The Indiana Supreme Court has evicted a stranger buried in a purchased family cemetery plot

We hold the plaintiff, who purchased a gravesite, only to discover three decades later that the cemetery resold the gravesite and allowed someone else to be buried there, is entitled to the relief provided by Indiana’s wrongful burial statutes—correction of the wrongful burial. The plaintiff was not afforded that relief, so we reverse in part and remand.

Facts

In 1982, Kathy Salyer purchased five contiguous gravesites in the Washington Regular Baptist Church Cemetery. She paid $75 for each and received certificates of ownership stating she owns the gravesites and her heirs and assigns are entitled to use them in fee simple for burial purposes. The certificates purport to be registered in the Cemetery’s record book. Salyer’s intent was to use the gravesites as a family plot. And over the years, the remains of her family members have been buried in some of those gravesites.

Three decades after buying her gravesites, Salyer learned that a stranger, Lowell Johnson, was buried in her northernmost gravesite (“the Gravesite”), which Salyer intended for her mother. The Cemetery admitted it had made a mistake by inadvertently selling the Gravesite twice, first to Salyer and later for Johnson’s burial. But the Cemetery refused Salyer’s demand to move Johnson’s remains. Salyer sued, seeking damages, attorney’s fees, and an order for the Cemetery to remove Johnson’s remains from the Gravesite and restore it to her. Kristy Sams, Johnson’s daughter, intervened and objected to moving Johnson’s remains.

Result

The trial court and the Court of Appeals recognized Salyer is entitled to relief. But we agree with Salyer that she is entitled to “correct[ion of] the wrongful burial.” I.C. § 23-14-59-2. Accordingly, while we affirm the denial of damages and attorney’s fees, we reverse in part and remand for the trial court to order the Cemetery to correct the wrongful burial by removing Johnson’s remains from the Gravesite and restoring it for Salyer’s use.

(Mike Frisch )