Ronald J. Lee And Luella J. Lee

Plaintiff-appellants Ronald I. Lee and Luella J. Lee (Lees) husband and wife, brought suit against Lonnie G. Weston (Weston), the Coroner of Madison County, in a two-paragraph complaint. The first paragraph alleged Weston had improperly ordered an autopsy of their 18-year old son, Randall, and then interfered with the autopsy by causing his body to be partially embalmed prior to the autopsy. The second paragraph alleged Weston libeled the Lees by finding in his verdict that the cause of Randalls death was "Aspirations of body content/Due to overdose", a cause they claim was not substantiated by medical evidence. The trial court granted summary judgment against the Lees and they appeal claiming genuine issues of fact remain on both their theories of recovery.