(a) Any interested person or persons, and/or any county in this state in which a burial ground is situated, and/or any municipality in this state if the burial ground is situated in the municipality or within one (1) mile of the lawful corporate limits of the municipality and not beyond the limits of the county in which any part of the municipality is situated and not within the lawful corporate limits of any other municipality in Tennessee, may bring or join in a suit in the chancery court of the county in which the burial ground is situated, for the following purpose or purposes:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-4-103

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • interested persons: means any and all persons who have any right or easement or other right in, or incident or appurtenant to, a burial ground as such, including the surviving spouse and children, or if no surviving spouse or children, the nearest relative or relatives by consanguinity of any one (1) or more deceased persons whose remains are buried in any burial ground. See Tennessee Code 46-4-102
  • 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
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) To have the remains of all deceased persons buried in the burial ground removed from the burial ground and reburied in a suitable repository to be obtained for that purpose before their removal from the burial ground;
(2) To terminate the use of, and all rights and easements to use, the ground as a burial ground, and all rights and easements incident or appurtenant to the ground as a burial ground; and
(3) Thereupon, to partition or sell for partition the ground if the court finds that it belongs to two (2) or more persons and if any one (1) or more of the owners applies for partition. The authority of all municipalities in this state is extended, for the sole purpose of bringing or joining in the suit by the municipality, but for no other purpose, to a distance of one (1) mile from the lawful corporate limits of the municipality but not beyond the limits of the county in which any part of the municipality is situated and not so as to come within the lawful corporate limits of any other municipality of this state.
(b) In the suit, all interested persons who are not complainants shall be made defendants, and the owner or owners of the land or of any right of reversion or other right or interest in the land, if the owner or owners shall be or include other than the interested persons, shall also be made defendants. Interested persons who are minors or otherwise incompetent or under disability may become complainants by guardian or next friend. All known defendants who are minors or otherwise incompetent or under disability shall be represented by guardian ad litem. Nonresident and unknown defendants may be proceeded against by order of publication, and publication, in the manner provided by law.
(c)

(1) At least thirty (30) days prior to any hearing on a suit initiated pursuant to this section, the complainant shall file notice with the Tennessee historical commission. The notice shall include the approximate age of the burial ground and either:

(A) The name of the complainant, the location of the burial ground, and, if discernable, the name of any person interred at the burial ground; or
(B) An exact copy of the complaint filed in the chancery court.
(2) The Tennessee historical commission shall post filed notices on its website. Notices shall be posted in chronological order by county and updated at least monthly. The Tennessee historical commission may archive notices annually.
(3) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c)(1) and (2), any notice concerning the removal of Native American Indian human remains shall be filed according to title 11, chapter 6, and must not be posted on the website of the commission.
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