Carney v. Knollwood Cemetery Ass'n

In Carney v. Knollwood Cemetery Ass'n. (1986), 33 Ohio App. 3d 31, 514 N.E.2d 430, the Eighth District Court of Appeals examined, at length, the basis for a claim of interference with a dead body and concluded that it is a "sub-species of the tort of infliction of serious emotional distress." Id. at paragraph two of the syllabus. Ohio courts, including this court, recognize two infliction-of-emotional distress causes of action; namely, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. See Audia v. Rossi Bros. Funeral Home, Inc., 140 Ohio App.3d 589, 592, 2000 Ohio 2677, 748 N.E.2d 587; see, also, Niessel v. Meijer Inc., Warren App. No. CA2001-04-027, 2001 Ohio 8645. In Carney, the appellate court quoted a passage from Prosser, Law of Torts (4 Ed.1971), 328-330, regarding cases which have allowed recovery for mental disturbances due to the mishandling of a corpse: "What all of these cases appear to have in common is an especial likelihood of genuine and serious mental distress, arising from the special circumstances, which serves as a guarantee that the claim is not spurious. Where the guarantee can be found, and the mental distress is undoubtedly real and serious, there is no essential reason to deny recovery." Carney at 34, fn. 4.