The case of Allen v. Cemetery, et al, 2016 WL 2891468 (May 2, 2016) deals with an interesting question of a Funeral Director’s liability for the negligence of a cemetery that the Funeral Home made arrangements with in accordance with cash advances from the purchaser.

  The facts of the case can be summarized as follows:

  Allen made funeral arrangements for her father with the Funeral Home. Allen wanted her father to be buried at the Hamden Plains Cemetery (Cemetery) in Hamden, Connecticut because other members of the family had been buried there. The Funeral Home knew that the Cemetery had some maintenance problems, including mistakes in recordkeeping, but did not disclose this information to Allen. Also involved in the litigation was Allen’s son in connection with the previous burial of his paternal grandfather. Several years after the grandfather was buried, control of the Cemetery was transferred to Hamden government.

  Allen’s son testified he visited the Cemetery to pay his respects to his grandfathers. A few years after the burials, Allen purchased monuments for the two grandfathers. However, the monument company was unable to install the monuments because the Cemetery was not sure of the location of the burials. Subsequently, the spaces that Allen and her son had been visiting were opened and it was confirmed the two grandfathers were actually buried in those spaces. The monuments were finally installed. Allen sued the Cemetery for negligence and in a separate proceeding the Cemetery was held to be liable for breaching its obligations.

  Allen also sued the Funeral Home for breach of contract, failure to comply with its duty as Allen’s agent and emotional distress basically based on the Funeral Home’s failure to disclose the problems at the Cemetery to her. A trial was held and the Judge requested the parties to file briefs. The Judge concluded the Funeral Home had no liability on the basis of the contract provisions. The Judge wrote an extensive opinion outlining the claims and the applicable Connecticut law.

  The lesson to be learned by this case, a Funeral Home has to be careful when it accepts Cash Advances from a customer. The Funeral Home should clearly explain that it is making the arrangements with any third party as a courtesy and the third party is responsible for providing the merchandise and services covered. It should be noted that while this case dealt with a Cemetery, Cash Advances often cover other third parties involved in a funeral service.

  This article is for the information of subscribers and does not constitute legal advice about this subject. All subscribers should accordingly consult with their own attorney to make sure they are in compliance with the laws in their state.