Bethesda African Cemetery Coal. v. Housing Opp. Comm.

Summary

The Court held that mandamus was unavailable because the Coalition had an ordinary equitable remedy under Maryland’s common law of burial places. It further held that the burial-ground sale statute provides an optional mechanism for removing certain land-use restrictions and obtaining title free of specified claims, rather than imposing a duty on a seller to seek judicial approval before selling. The statute does not abrogate the common law, which permits appropriate equitable protection of burial grounds and interred remains. The case was remanded to permit the Coalition to seek leave to amend its complaint to assert specific common-law rights.