Ohio Supreme Court, 1980

Jackson v. Claxton

Jackson v. Claxton
Ohio Supreme Court · Decided February 27, 1980 · Brown, Celebrezze, Herbert, Holmes, Locher, Sweeney
61 Ohio St. 2d 283; 400 N.E.2d 1356

Jackson v. Claxton

Opinion of the Court

William B. Brown, J.

The sole issue is whether R. C. 1721.03 applies to a cemetery owned and operated by an individual.

R. C. 1721.03 provides, in pertinent part:

“Land shall not be appropriated, nor shall a cemetery be located, by an association incorporated for cemetery purposes or by a benevolent or religious society, within one hundred yards of a dwelling house, unless the owner of such dwelling house gives his consent, or unless the entire tract appropriated is a necessary addition to or enlargement of a cemetery already in use.***”

The statute refers to “an association incorporated for cemetery purposes” and to “a benevolent or religious society,” but does not refer to individuals. Based on the maxim of statutory interpretation, expressio unius est exclusio *284alterius, we conclude that R. C. 1721.03 does not apply to individuals. Any amendment to the statute must be made by the General Assembly.

The judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

Celebrezze, C. J., Herbert, P. Brown, Sweeney, Locher and Holmes, JJ., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.