(a) As to matters within its reasonable control, a cemetery company shall maintain its cemeteries so as to reflect respect for the memory of the dead in keeping with the reasonable sensibilities of survivors of those whose remains are interred in the cemeteries.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-304

  • Cemetery: means any land or structure in this state dedicated to and used, or intended to be used, for interment of human remains. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery company: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association, now or hereafter organized, owning or controlling cemetery lands or property and conducting the business of a cemetery. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Improvement care: means the continual maintenance of the cemetery grounds and graves in keeping with a properly maintained cemetery, including cutting of grass, raking and cleaning of cemetery plots at reasonable intervals, and pruning of shrubs and trees. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • remains: means the body of a deceased person, including the body in any stage of decomposition, and cremated remains. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b)

(1) The district attorney general in whose district a cemetery is situated may bring an action in chancery court to remedy any violation of this section on the petition of five percent (5%) of, or ten (10), lot owners and next of kin of lot owners, whichever is fewer; provided, that only one (1) survivor shall be qualified as a petitioner on account of kinship with one (1) deceased person.
(2) Upon finding that the cemetery is not being consistently maintained as provided in this section, the court shall appoint one (1) or more of the petitioners to perform the maintenance that the court finds to have been neglected and assess the costs of the maintenance to the cemetery company.
(3) After compliance with this section has been achieved, the court shall discharge the appointed petitioner or petitioners; provided, that the cemetery company agrees to provide an appropriate level of maintenance henceforth.
(4) If the trustee of the improvement care trust fund for the benefit of the cemetery has been made a defendant in the action, the court may order the trustee to disburse the net income from the trust to the court or the appointed petitioner or petitioners, and allocate the income to the cost of the maintenance approved by the court.
(c) The officers and directors of a cemetery company commit a Class E felony if they fail to set up and maintain the improvement care trust fund provided in § 46-1-204. They may all be jointly indicted in the same indictment. In addition, they shall be jointly liable at the suit of a lot owner, or descendant or next of kin of a lot owner, for the difference between the amount of the improvement care trust fund as set up by the company and what it should be if set up under the terms of § 46-1-204, plus interest from the date the fund should have been set up. Any recovery under this section or § 46-1-205 shall be for the use of the company and shall be paid into the improvement care trust fund, so as to bring it up to the required amount.
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