Save Our Cemeteries Inc. v. Archdiocese of New Orleans Inc. - United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Save Our Cemeteries Inc. v. Archdiocese of New Orleans Inc.

By United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

  • Release Date: 1978-02-28
  • Genre: Law

Description

HILL, Circuit Judge The issue raised by this appeal is whether the district court properly dismissed the appellants' suit, in which the appellants charged violations of the Sherman Act and of the Civil Rights Act. After a careful review of the record, we hold that the district court properly dismissed the appellants' antitrust claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We also hold that the district court's dismissal of the appellants' civil rights claims is properly reviewable as a grant of summary judgment, and, reviewed as such, we affirm the district court. The appellants in the case on appeal are Save-Our-Cemeteries, Inc., a nonprofit organization, and Mr. Gilbert Maury, an alleged owner of a wall vault in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 in the City of New Orleans. The appellees are the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries, Inc. In 1974, the New Orleans Department of Health advised the appellees that they should not permit future burials in the wall vaults in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 due to the advanced degree of deterioration of the wall. When the appellees indicated their intention to comply with the Department of Health notice, the appellants brought this suit in the federal district court, charging violations of the Sherman Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.

Comments