Tort/Negligence – Grave Desecration – Civil Practice – Statute of Limitations – Real Property – Disclosure

Robinson v. Wadford (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-07-0909, 13 pp.) (Linda M. McGee, J.) Appealed from Orange County Superior Court (Robert F. Johnson, J.) N.C. App.

Holding: Plaintiffs contend that their grave desecration claim is subject to a 10-year statute of limitations, but the complaint alleges that “sometime prior to 1999 … defendants piled substantial amounts of old pallets, metal and tile on top of the grave sites.” Since plaintiffs did not file their complaint until 2011, their claim is time-barred.

We affirm the trial court’s grant of defendants’ motion to dismiss.

We find no authority indicating that executing a quitclaim deed without informing the purchaser of the existence of a gravesite amounts to an act of desecration.