Feeley v. Andrews
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort by the heirs at law of Peter Feeley against the superintendent of a private cemetery, called the Mount Auburn Catholic Cemetery, owned and managed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole, with a first count in the nature of trespass quare clausum fregit alleging that the plaintiffs were the owners and proprietors of a certain burial lot in the cemetery, and that the defendant entered the close, dug up the earth, opened the grave, and struck,…
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Tort by the heirs at law of Peter Feeley against the superintendent of a private cemetery, called the Mount Auburn Catholic Cemetery, owned and managed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole, with a first count in the nature of trespass quare clausum fregit alleging that the plaintiffs were the owners and proprietors of a certain burial lot in the cemetery, and that the defendant entered the close, dug up the earth, opened the grave, and struck, maltreated and defaced a casket containing the dead body of the plaintiffs’ mother and the body itself; and a second count…
1Opinion of the CourtBoring, J.
It is laid down in Meagher v. Driscoll, 99 Mass. 281, that a dead body after burial becomes a part of the ground *315to which it has been committed, and that the only action that can be brought for an injury to it is an action of trespass quare clausum fregit. See also in this connection Burney v. Childrens Hospital, 169 Mass. 57.
The first count in the case at bar is a count of trespass quare clausum fregit. A verdict for the defendant was ordered rightly on that count. The plaintiffs, by proving that through the undertaker they hired the defendant to prepare the grave for the burial of their…
2Cases cited9 opinions
- Sohier v. Trinity ChurchMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
- Meagher v. DriscollMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
- Bessemer Land & Improvement Co. v. JenkinsSupreme Court of Alabama · 1895
- Burney v. Children's HospitalMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1897
- Donnelly v. Boston Catholic Cemetery Ass'nMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1888
4 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by11 opinions
- Brooks v. Boston & Northern Street Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1912
- Trefry v. YoungerMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1917
- McAndrew v. QuirkMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1952
- American Glue & Resin, Inc. v. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.District Court, D. Massachusetts · 1993
- Walsh v. BrownMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1907
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.