A trial involving Galilee Memorial Gardens, a cemetery in Tennessee, is set to begin. According to a class action lawsuit filed against the cemetery, Galilee Memorial Gardens mishandled an untold number of caskets, allowing them to be crushed and stacked. As a result, many bodies and remains were lost. Since the dispute was filed, the cemetery gates have remained closed, though opening statements in the trial began earlier this week. In total, relatives of nearly 1,200 dead people joined the suit against the “licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to Galilee for three years after the cemetery’s registration expired in December 2010.”
A trial involving Galilee Memorial Gardens, a cemetery in Tennessee, is set to begin. According to a class action lawsuit filed against the cemetery, Galilee Memorial Gardens mishandled an untold number of caskets, allowing them to be crushed and stacked. As a result, many bodies and remains were lost. Since the dispute was filed, the cemetery gates have remained closed, though opening statements in the trial began earlier this week. In total, relatives of nearly 1,200 dead people joined the suit against the “licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to Galilee for three years after the cemetery’s registration expired in December 2010.”
The lawsuit argues that “more than a dozen Memphis-area funeral homes failed to carry out their ‘sacred and contractual duties’ for vulnerable, mourning relatives who expected their loved ones to be interred with dignity.” The complaints spurred investigations that later revealed that the owner of the cemetery, the Lambert family, “misplaced hundreds of bodies, buried multiple cadavers in the same grave, and crushed caskets to fit them into single plots for years.” The funeral homes identified in the lawsuit continued to send bodies to the cemetery until it was closed in 2014.
The suit argues that, had a licensed funeral director been in charge of overseeing the burials, the mishandling of the remains never would have occurred. As a result, the suit is seeking damages that will likely hit the millions of dollars mark if the jury sides with the plaintiffs.
When commenting on the lawsuit, Kathryn Barnett, a lawyer for the plaintiff’s, said the funeral homes “turned their backs on the bodies that were entrusted to them. They just walked away.”
So far, the funeral homes accused in the suit have denied the allegations, which include “breach of contract, negligence, and infliction of emotional distress.” According to them, the funeral homes never violated “customers’ contracts and did not have a contractual relationship with Galilee.” Additionally, many officials with the funeral homes claim they “had no duty to monitor Galilee’s licensure and are not liable for the cemetery’s actions.”
Galilee Memorial Gardens is also mentioned as a defendant in the case. So far, Jemar Lambert, the individual who took over the cemetery after his father passed away, was handed 10 years of probation in “a plea deal with state prosecutors for his role in the mishandling of burials.”
In addition to fighting for justice for the grieving families, the lawsuit against Galilee Memorial Gardens has raised awareness over the “lack of regulation and state oversight of privately-owned cemeteries and funeral homes.” Usually, regulations regarding the death industry are left to individual states. In most cases, cemeteries and funeral homes are required to be licensed. However, according to investigators and experts in the field, many states often fail to perform on-site inspections and other tasks to ensure funeral homes and cemeteries are following the rules.
Sources:
Trial in lawsuit alleging mishandled burials set to begin
Extent of graveyard misconduct takes center stage at Galilee trial
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