Horvitz v. St. John the Baptist Church Corp.

Plaintiffs appeal an award of nominal damages on their claims for trespass and conversion arising out of an enlargement of burial space within a cemetery

Plaintiffs, Phyllis B. Horvitz (Horvitz), Jose M. Mateus and Adalgiza M. Mateus (Mateus), owned adjoining plots of land. The westerly side of each property abutted the cemetery. In 1994, St. John the Baptist Church Corporation (St. John) decided to expand its property to increase the burial capacity of its cemetery. The expansion involved landscaping along the westerly side of the plaintiffs’ property. The trial judge found that the…