Page A12 - January2015

Page A12 JANUARY 2015 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
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reporting of some of the claims and counterclaims of
all parties).
There were many other claims and counterclaims
filed by the various parties dealing with action of sales
personnel, false advertising, misappropriation, defama-
tion and other unfair competition claims. A full report-
ing of all of these would take volumes.
On November 17, 2014, Matthews International
Corporation announced the settlement of this case.
The result of this long litigation is not just its settle-
ment. It is the realization that in this evolving industry
of rapidly expanding cremation and the taste for sim-
pler services, that the financial stakes are much higher.
The disturbing drop in casket sales, the competition
from foreign casket manufacturers leaves less profitable
items such as cremation products, printed products,
websites and other technology products to be fought
over by major corporations with hungry stockholders.
Competition amongst death care providers has become
more fierce and the major vendors are vehement to be
the leader in these limited offerings.
Two major manufacturers have had to live through the
public relations nightmare of employees’ actions coming
under scrutiny. A long time funeral supply family is forev-
er fractured as Matthews has many of the Pontone family
members employed there. The division of father and sons
and grandchildren and cousins has to be painful.
Thomas Pontone released a statement with the settle-
ment announcement: “I am pleased the defendants have
agreed to settle the case for a significant amount. On be-
half of myself, Matthews and all of the Pontone family
members engaged with Matthews, I would like to thank
our customers for their continued loyalty and our long-
standing employees for the contributions they make ev-
ery day delivering outstanding service to our customers.”
The future of funeral service is currently a painful one
to watch. There are many new opportunities but many
more funeral service institutions will crumble in the
process.
“Avoid lawsuits beyond all things; they pervert your
conscience, impair your health, and dissipate your
property.” –Jean de la Bruyere
Steven Palmer entered funeral service in 1971. He is an honors grad-
uate of the New England Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences. He has
been licensed on both coasts, he owns the Westcott Funeral Homes of
Cottonwood and Camp Verde, AZ. Steve offers his observations on cur-
rent funeral service issues. He may be reached by mail at PO Box 352,
Cottonwood, AZ 86326, by phone at (928)634-9566, by fax at (928)634-
5156, by e-mail at steve@westcottfuneralhome.com or through his web-
site at www.westcottfuneralhome.com or on Facebook.
Observations
Clash of
the Titans
“Litigation is the basic legal right which guarantees
every corporation its decade in court.”
–David Porter, Microsoft Corporate
Vice President of Retail Sales
It is worthy of a soap opera, a primetime drama or a
reality show. It could be a thesis for any law student.
The consequences, unfortunately, are real; the ex-
pense is staggering and the lessons taught show us how
funeral service has changed.
Matthews Casket will receive 17 million dollars in
a settlement from Batesville Casket for civil action
against Batesville Casket Company, Harry Pontone and
Scott Pontone. An additional settlement of 1.75 mil-
lion dollars to pay the attorney fees of Harry and Scott
Pontone will also be received.
This four year litigation clogged the courts with com-
plaints, motions and addendums from all involved.
Judge Joy Flowers Conti stated in one of the later opin-
ions “the court has seen a lengthy and contentious fact
discovery period.”
There are several of us who remember a different era
of casket companies. The regional, family-owned sup-
plier of caskets, dresses and suits and other sundry
items. There was no problem in changing a casket inte-
rior.
The independent local casket suppliers have not com-
pletely disappeared, but are much fewer in numbers.
The cost of manufacturing, distribution and marketing
forced them to sell to larger and larger companies until
the largest manufacturers and suppliers have their stock
traded on Wall Street.
Harry Pontone started his career by working for his
father, Thomas, who founded the South Brooklyn Cas-
ket Company in 1931. The oldest of eight children,
Harry, along with his brothers, took the smaller sized
company and expanded it through hard work and an-
ticipation of what funeral homes were looking for in
memorialization.
The family business became Milso (referred by court
records as “Old Milso”). In 2005, the York Group ac-
quired Old Milso. Harry and Scott Pontone became
York’s president and vice president, respectively, and
were part of the York’s board of directors.
In 2007, Harry felt inner company managerial in-
terference and sued the York Group for “undermining
his authority and encroaching on his responsibility as
the president.” The case was settled. Harry resigned as
York Group’s president, became York Group’s chair-
man of the board of directors and remained on the
board of directors. Scott voluntarily resigned his posi-
tions from York Group and received a severance pack-
age.
In 2008 Scott started selling insurance to funeral
home owners. Several owners asked him for assistance
in buying caskets and he told them he could not due
to agreements signed with York.
In July 2008, Scott sued York, Matthews and Milso
stating that the non-competition and non-solicitation
clauses in his agreement were not enforceable in New
York. The district court denied his motion. In Janu-
ary 2010, Scott incorporated Pontone Casket Com-
pany LLC in New York. Two employees of Matthews,
Josephine Pesce (who was at one time executive assis-
tant to Harry) and Joseph Redmond (who was at one
time warehouse manager at Milso), left their posi-
tions to work for Batesville Casket Company. Scott
claimed that he did not “solicit or induce” Pesce and
Redmond to leave their positions with Matthews.
Batesville claimed they had a “consulting agreement”
with Pontone Casket Company and they were not
“establishing an employment or agency relationship.”
Scott was Pontone Casket Company LLC’s manager.
In 2010, Matthews commenced legal action against
Scott and Batesville Casket for violation of employ-
ment agreements. The next month Harry resigned his
positions with York and Milso and was subsequently
added to Matthews’s complaint in 2011. A series of
counter claims were filed by Batesville and the Pon-
tones in August 2012. Many of the claims were that
the agreements the Pontones signed with Matthews
were unreasonable and unnecessary to protect the in-
terests of Matthews.
Many claims and counterclaims were filed back and
forth as to the impact Harry and Scott had on exist-
ing Matthews customers. Matthews saying they lost
existing customers because of Harry and Scott being
with Batesville. Batesville counterclaimed that Mat-
thews did not lose business due to the Pontones and
denied the Pontones were interfering with Matthews’s
customers.
(It is my attempt to report a summarized timetable
of these claims between these parties. This timetable
does not intentionally imply any opinion of the ac-
tion of the parties and is an attempt to give a balanced
By Steven Palmer
All Newwww.nomispublications.com
BLOGS
each mourner for their contact information, can give
each mourner a “digital” version of the program, can
give directions to cemeteries and repasts, can ask for
donations, can get mourners to complete a message
of condolence and a whole lot more.
The cost of providing this level of service is less than
the cost of most printed funeral programs or the cost
of most newspaper obituaries. And it can help pay for
some funerals as well.
As with most things, the devil is in the details, but
this new mobile technology will soon change how
some funerals are held.
At minimum, iBeacons will eliminate the line to
fill out the condolence book. At maximum, it could
eliminate most funeral program printing, newspaper
obituaries and even motorcycle escorts.
iBeacons. They are something for funeral directors
to watch for in 2015.
Steven Holland, operations manager for Mobits.org, is
a graduate of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management,
Northwestern University. Holland has several years experi-
ence in helping firms in a variety of industries implement
mobile marketing solutions. Holland was influential in the
launch of Mobits.org and is bringing several mobile phone
technologies to the deathcare industry.
Steven can be reached at 786-763-1875, StevenH@
mobits.org. visit www.mobits.org or text “Mobits” to 72727
for more information.
Continued from Page A10
iBeacon – The New Technology for Funeral
Directors in 2015
Standard BLE has a broadcast range of up to 100
meters, which make iBeacons ideal for indoor loca-
tion tracking and communication. It’s also 60 to 80
percent cheaper than the cost of classic Bluetooth and
the battery life of iBeacons can be up to 3 years.
This technology is ideal for funeral directors because
it allows directors to communicate with mourners si-
lently through their mobile devices.
Without uttering a word, a funeral director can ask
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