Christensen v. Superior Court

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

We are asked to decide whether persons other than those who contract for the services of mortuaries and crematoria or have the statutory right to direct the disposition of the body of a decedent may recover damages for emotional distress engendered by knowledge of the negligent or intentional mishandling of the decedent’s remains when they did not observe the misconduct or its consequences. The Court of Appeal held that those family members may recover damages for the emotional distress they suffer if remains are negligently or intentionally mishandled, and that if the…