§308. Sale of cemetery spaces; abandoned spaces, defined, sale

A. After completing the map or plat, a cemetery authority may sell and convey interment spaces, subject to such rules and regulations as may be then in effect or thereafter adopted by the cemetery authority, and subject to such other limitations, conditions and restrictions as may be inserted in the instrument of conveyance of such cemetery spaces.

B. In the event that any of the interment spaces in municipal, religious, and nonprofit cemeteries in the city of New Orleans have been abandoned as defined in Subsection C of this Section for more than a period of ten years, then a cemetery authority managing the cemetery in which such space is located, after advertising in the official journal of the city of New Orleans a notice attesting to such fact, may take possession of but not demolish such abandoned interment spaces and sell and convey same subject to rules and regulations as set forth in Subsection A of this Section.

C. Interment space shall be deemed to have been abandoned (1) after a cemetery authority shall have been unable after diligent efforts for twenty-five years to locate any of the owners or their successors or heirs, or, (2) in the event such interment space is no longer fit for human burial, there has been no interment in the preceding twenty-five years and the cemetery authority shall have been unable, after diligent efforts for one year, to locate any of the owners or their successors or heirs to provide care, maintenance or repairs for an interment space. A cemetery authority shall be deemed to have made diligent efforts to locate the owners or their successors or heirs of an interment space for a specified period of time if such authority (1) has advertised a notice stating that such authority proposes to acquire such interment space pursuant to this Section, which notice shall be advertised (a) in the case of the twenty-five year period provided herein (i) once a year in each of the first twenty-four years of such period, and (ii) once a month during the last year of such twenty-five year period, and (b) in the case of the one year period provided herein, once a month during such one year period; (2) has posted a notice on the space to the same effect as that specified in clause (1) of this sentence, once a month during the last year of either of such periods of time; and (3) has mailed a registered/certified letter to the last known owners of said interment space which letter shall contain a notice to the same effect as that specified in clause (1) of this statement; provided, however, that the requirement of clause (3) of this sentence shall not be applicable to the extent that the records of the cemetery authority acting pursuant to this Section do not contain the name and address of any owner of said interment space or (4) be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have exercised diligent efforts to locate the owners; provided, however, that prior to the initiation of any such legal action the cemetery authority has conformed with the requirements of the one year period of monthly advertisements, postings, and mailings as provided hereinabove and evidence of such notices has been exhibited to the court.

Acts 1974, No. 417, §1. Amended by Acts 1978, No. 747, §1, eff. July 17, 1978; Acts 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 34, §1.