View source for England v. Central Pocahontas Coal Co.

In '''''England v. Central Pocahontas Coal Co.''''', 86 W. Va. 575, 104 S.E. 46 (1920), the [[West Virginia]] Supreme Court held that:

:"It is conceded that at the common law there was no [[right of property]] in a [[corpse|dead body]], and that once interred it became a part of the [[soil]] where laid; and in England the protection of [[sepulcher]] was generally controlled by the [[Ecclesiastical law]]. 2 Blackstone, 428; Meagher v. Driscoll, 99 Mass. 281, 96 Am. Dec. 759. In this country we have no Ecclesiastical law controlling the subject. The right however to bury a corpse and to preserve the [[remains]] is a [[legal right]] which the courts of this country recognize and protect; and this right is regarded as a quasi right of property. 17 Corpus Juris, p. 1139; 8 Ruling Case Law, p. 684; State v. Highland, 71 W. Va. 87, 76 S.E. 140. And the right, according to the authorities in this country, exists in near relatives, and is cognizable in courts of law as well as in [[equity]], and so long as the right of [[interment]] exists it may be vindicated by them in such courts."

[[Category:Burial]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:State Court Cases]]