The death care business is notorious for price gouging
and sleazy sales tactics. The complaints and actions filed against
funeral parlors and cemeteries are not only by those living and
paying for funerals and plots and having been "taken"
but by the families of the deceased or the deceased's estate for
"improper burial".
The industry is prone to horrific mistakes such as burying
bodies in the wrong place, cremating the wrong person, stacking
bodies for extra monies and siphoning funds intended to cover
burials and graves.
The disposal of the dead is a ritual sacred to all cultures.
Mortuaries, cemeteries and crematories are notoriously under
regulated.
Cases against cemeteries, crematories, mortuaries and funeral
homes where people did not get what they paid for differ from
most breach of contract cases as unlike other contract cases,
emotional damages are recoverable due to the highly emotional
nature of the contract. Marcia B. McClure is known for handling
cases of this nature, an area not usually litigated by many
attorneys. She has done public speaking, articles and lectures
on the subject.