fbpx

Calif. Supreme Court upholds lawsuit against Jewish cemetery firm

The California Supreme Court upheld class-action status for a lawsuit alleging gross misconduct by a Jewish funeral services provider that had paid a $100 million settlement over similar misconduct.
[additional-authors]
July 25, 2012

The California Supreme Court upheld class-action status for a lawsuit alleging gross misconduct by a Jewish funeral services provider that had paid a $100 million settlement over similar misconduct.

On July 23, the court upheld a lower-court ruling on the suit against Texas-based Service Corp. International (SCI) alleging mass desecration of grave sites at a Jewish cemetery in Mission Hills, Calif., clearing the way for families to collectively seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have estimated damages at more than $500 million. A trial was scheduled for Oct. 15.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2009, claims that SCI and its employees purposely desecrated hundreds of Jewish graves and improperly disposed of human remains and bones in mass graves in order to make room for new burials, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. 

The lawsuit alleges that groundskeepers were repeatedly instructed by cemetery management to secretly break concrete vaults with a backhoe and remove, dump and discard the human remains — including human skulls — to make room for new burials in the interest of increased profits.

In 2003, SCI agreed to a $100 million settlement with Menorah Gardens in Southwest Ranches, Fla., after being accused of misplacing bodies, smashing vaults and overselling plots at its graveyards near Palm Beach Gardens and Fort Lauderdale.

SCI, along with other companies, also is facing a $200 million lawsuit in Florida for desecrating burial plots and placing the wrong bodies in several grave sites.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Difficult Choices

Jews have always believed in the importance of higher education. Today, with the rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, Jewish high school seniors are facing difficult choices.

All Aboard the Lifeboat

These are excruciating times for Israel, and for the Jewish people.  It is so tempting to succumb to despair. That is why we must keep our eyes open and revel in any blessing we can find.  

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.