A verdict that will give relief to funeral directors all across the United States was handed down in the case of the Galilee Memorial Gardens case yesterday.  For the last month we have kept you up to date on this case which stems from alleged neglect of deceased casketed human remains brought to the Galilee Memorial Gardens for final disposition by earth burial.

You can read an article on the verdict here.

Almost 1,200 plaintiffs had joined the lawsuit that intended to also find funeral home and funeral directors at fault for the negligent actions at the cemetery.  The plaintiffs’ main argument was that funeral directors were responsible for the remains until they were properly buried in the ground, not just to the point that they were left at the cemetery or left on a lowering device following the grave side service.  Plaintiffs had asked for an award of tens of millions of dollars and, while that could be rewarded, it is unlikely that the cemetery would be able to make those payments.

The verdict delivered yesterday indicated that the cemetery was 99% responsible for the actions and funeral directors 1% responsible.  The jury also found that the funeral homes did not recklessly or negligently mishandle human remains.

The jury is to return today to discuss damages.

Funeral Director Daily take:  This was a big case and a big case for funeral directors to win.  In our opinion, they were looked upon as “the deep pockets” in this case as plaintiffs had to know that the cemetery will not have the assets to pay any large verdict.  It’s unknown to me how much insurance the cemetery may have for this type of judgement.

The cemetery was overseen by Tennessee state regulators.  The alleged misdeeds happened while the cemetery still was in good standing with the State of Tennessee.  A verdict against the funeral directors would have set precedent that state regulators opinions meant little and require funeral directors to, in essence, individually do the state’s job.

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