Donations
New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries d.b.a. New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries ("NOAC") wants to charge everyone not immediate family to enter all of its public cemeteries and exclude all competing tour guides and companies, especially the ones who talk about Voodoo. If they succeed, they would be changing over 200 years of Louisiana law, and the change would let every cemetery operator in the state charge for entry and even make them pay for their tour. Only people who could prove they were immediate family could avoid paying. Think of the graves you have visited in your life that were not your immediate family. Do you think it is appropriate to have to pay to get in to visit a public cemetery? All religious cemeteries in Louisiana are public cemeteries located on land that was dedicated to the general public. They choose to ignore the law; so we are in court to enforce the law.
Since its creation in November 2021, ACTGC has spent just under $2,500.00, mainly to get registered with the state, have a presence online, and cover costs like SurveyMonkey surveys for registration and to gather your opinions. Since filing suit against NOCC and its tour company in November 2021, the litigation has cost just over $10,000.00 in legal fees and costs through January 30, 2023.
Our costs are low and our larger members have covered them because they know our individual members have been hardest hit by the pandemic and the attempt to monopolize the NOCC cemeteries. Now the city wants to make a bad situation worse by unlawfully charging for entry into its public cemeteries. Under Louisiana law, all public cemeteries (including all religious, municipal, and fraternal cemeteries) are on land dedicated to the general public. Public roads and parks are also on land dedicated to the general public. Moreover, public cemeteries hold the remains of people beloved by their community, which is why St. Louis No. 1 is the only cemetery in the country requiring an entry fee, much less a required tour fee.
Until we are done with the current state court litigation all donations to ACTGC go directly to the association's current litigation against New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries. After the current litigation, we will hold elections and focus on educating our members and the public and self regulation to minimize the city's need to spend time and public money regulating our industry, which is already one of the most heavily regulated in the country.
Mail checks payable to
David W. Nance Law Firm LLC
3912 Constance Street, New Orleans, LA 70115
Zelle to david@dwnlaw.com
Venmo to @DWNLAW
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