California Injury Blog
A Texas widow has sued Service Corporation International, one of the world’s largest funeral companies which owns cemetery properties here in Orange County, CA. Juanita Guerra alleges in her lawsuit that the Mont Meta Memorial Park in San Benito, Texas, moved her husband’s remains not once, but twice, over a period of just five years.
According to an article published in the Brownsville Herald, Juanita Guerra had picked a spot at the cemetery for her husband, Marcos, because it was just a few feet away from where other family members were buried. Marcos was laid to rest on Oct. 8, 2001. But barely a month later, as the pain of losing her husband was still fresh, Juanita was forced to relocate Marcos’ body because the cemetery said they messed up and gave her plots someone else had already bought, the lawsuit states.
Here is the worst part. A year after putting her through the “we messed up” and having to dig up and move her husband’s body, the cemetery moves his body again – this time without even telling the poor woman! Can you imagine going to a cemetery to visit a loved one only to find that their body and grave stone have been replaced with someone else’s remains? Can you imagine a multi-million dollar corporation digging up your husbands remains and moving them a second time, without any notification to you? Deplorable!
Juanita Guerra’s lawsuit accuses SCI of fraud, trespassing, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Here’s what the plaintiff’s attorney tells the newspaper:
“If there is anybody that is doing the work of the devil, this company seems to be doing it.”
That’s a good way of putting what a lot of funeral homes and cemeteries seem to be doing these days – instead of comforting grieving families they are causing them even more grief with their negligence, incompetence, lack of respect and/or greed and profit-mongering. This is shameful indeed.
And as it turns out, this is not the only family that has fallen victim to Service Corporation International, an industry giant. According to the newspaper, at least 19 other lawsuits have been filed against SCI in recent years, many strikingly similar to this most recent one. SCI reportedly paid out $100 million to settle class-action lawsuits in Florida. A $100 million dollar loss did not seem to get this corporation’s attention.
I’d like to hear how the national Chamber of Commerce and their tort deformer partners would spin Mrs. Guerra’s lawsuit as frivolous and abusive to American corporations. What restrictions on Mrs. Guerra’s rights would they propose in order to shield corporations like Service Corporation International from being held accountable for their acts in our courts of law? How does Mrs. Guerra obtain justice and right this wrong without a lawsuit Chamber of Commerce? What recourse do the people of America have against corporate giants like Service Corporation International who trample people’s rights and breach contracts either out of incompetence, lack of concern and/or greed without equal access to our courts?
At Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys we represent people in a wide range of accident, injury and negligence cases. Our favorite cases to pursue are those of corporate indifference toward the rights of ordinary people, especially where the corporation feels that they can get away trampling people’s rights.
If you believe you have been cheated by a funeral home or a cemetery or simply had your rights trampled, call me. If you have suffered injury or injustice at the hands of incompetent, negligent crooked corporation, I’d love to hear about it and see if there is a way for us to help you make it right. John Bisnar – 1-800-259-6373.