Countywide : Mortuaries Sued in U.S. Court Over Cremations

Seven families involved in a 1983 class-action lawsuit against a group of Orange County mortuaries recently filed seven federal racketeering lawsuits against the same mortuaries and the Neptune Society of Costa Mesa.

The mortuaries listed as defendants include Harbor Lawn-Mount Olive Mortuary and Memorial Park in Costa Mesa, Westminster Memorial Mortuary and the Garden Grove Chapel, among others.

The lawsuits, filed in Los Angeles federal court late last week and also on Monday, seek an unspecified amount of damages. They all allege that the customers’ loved ones were improperly cremated and their remains were disposed of improperly.

According to the lawsuits, the defendants “failed to disclose that the bodies handled by defendants would suffer dismemberment, mutilation . . . jamming together and other undignified violations.”

A spokesman for Harbor Lawn said the company was sold in 1983 and that none of the people named in the lawsuits work there anymore. The other defendants could not be reached for comment. The lawsuits also allege that the bodies were mingled with infectious wastes from hospitals and “stacked one on top of another in unrefrigerated garages.”

The related class-action suit is still pending in Orange County Superior Court.

The federal racketeering charges allege an organized effort by more than a dozen mortuaries to defraud customers seeking cremation for their loved ones. Attorneys for the families said they hope the federal suits will move through the courts faster than the state case.