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Case ID: 4888 | Miscellaneous | 08/07/2006
A class action lawsuit was brought against Graceland Memorial Park South, alleging lost bodies, grave desecration, misidentification of graves and insufficient burial spacing.
In addition, cemetery staff allegedly disturbed multiple burials with heavy equipment and probed graves with metal rods on a routine basis, without the permission of the deceased's family members. In 1986, Alicia Garcia purchased a burial plot for her sister, Eloisa Garcia, at Graceland Memorial Park South. The Garcia family could not afford a headstone for Eloisa, but Alicia Garcia was allegedly assured by the funeral home that the location of her sister's burial would be accurately recorded by the cemetery and the family would always be able to find the grave. Graceland, however, operating under the name of Paradise Memorial Gardens, Inc., allegedly had significant record keeping, spacing and quality control problems that would prevent Eloisa's remains from ever being located. According to the lawsuit, Graceland has no accurate maps or records of the section of the cemetery where Eloisa was buried. In an attempt to locate Eloisa's remains, cemetery staff conducted an extensive search in an area adjacent to where they believed she was located. They uncovered multiple graves with heavy equipment and probed various burials with metal rods. After desecrating multiple graves, Graceland staff removed the lid of the vault that they assumed contained Eloisa's remains. The search and inspections were conducted without the permission or consent of any family member. According to the State of Florida Department of Banking and Finance, Division of Finance, this is not the cemetery's first occurrence. Findings from examinations of the cemetery between 1993 and 2001 cite numerous occurrences of inconsistent burial records and misidentification of graves. Although fined by the State, the problem was never corrected. The cemetery has no intention of remedying the situation without court intervention. The Garcias and the class seek money damages for mental anguish, infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, and an injunction requiring Graceland to locate the burials and take remedial action to ascertain the location of and disposition of the subject remains and to ensure their proper identification and perpetual care. At Lawcash.com, it is our goal to keep you informed about important legal cases, class actions and settlements. Our lawyers offer free legal evaluations in tort cases, class actions, personal injury, and other lawsuits because we are dedicated to helping you resolve your legal complaints. Other Miscellaneous Cases of Interest The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has charged Canadian defendants Pinacle Publishing and M.D.S.C. Publishing with scamming small businesses and charities in the United States out of millions of dollars by billing them for business directory services they did not order or authorize, in violation of federal law. The FTC charges that the defendants refuse consumers’ requests to cancel the services, and use an in-house collection service to harass consumers whose accounts allegedly are past-due. Ten high school students from the state of California filed a class action lawsuit against the state over the high school exit exam. The lawsuit could turn around the fate of an estimated 100,000 students from the class of 2006 who may not graduate this June because of failing the standardized test, required for a diploma starting this year. A class action has been filed against New York-area papers Newsday, Inc., and Spanish-language Hoy, LLC, both owned by Chicago-based Tribune Company, on behalf of all commercial advertising customers of the papers who paid for any advertising at rates which were based upon the defendants' representations as to the newspapers’ circulation. The action alleges that the newspapers misrepresented their circulation figures over a period of years, so that advertising rates charged to commercial advertisers were artificially inflated, in violation of New York’s deceptive business practices act. Federal law prohibits advertisers from using your fax machine to propagate their unsolicited ads. The parties have reached a tentative $2.5 million settlement in an action filed against AMF Bowling Centers on behalf persons who received an unsolicited fax from the company in November 2002. The action alleged that the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 by sending out as many as 352,000 unsolicited faxes. Persons eligible to take part in the settlement should contact attorneys for the class as soon as possible. A Burlington County Superior Court judge has granted class-action status to cases filed in connection with the July 2004 flood in Burlington County.
Judge Harold B. Wells found that the large number of claims, similarity of damages, and allegations against dam owners met the criteria for consolidating the cases as a class action. A class action lawsuit has been filed in the District Court of Maryland against Hien Thi NGO for violations of The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Commonly referred to as "RICO", the Act addresses the infiltration of legitimate businesses by organized crime. Class members seek $150,000 in actual and compensatory damages in legal fees and costs, $300,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering, $500,000 for damages to businesses and $9,000,000 in punitive damages. |
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