Legal News

Latest SoCal cemetery case results in nearly $4M settlement

By Richard Binder

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr, finalizing a preliminary agreement reached last year, has approved a $3.87 million settlement to be distributed in the coming month to class members alleging improper handling of the remains of their deceased relatives at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale.

The judgment included $1.1 million in attorney compensation, with the rest set to be divided among the estimated 2,500 to 3,000 claimants, who have direct relatives buried in the cemetery.

This is the latest in a string of similar cases involving claims against cemeteries in Southern California.  According to Wesley Nutten, a partner at Desmond, Marcello & Amster, about $28 million has been distributed to 10,000 family members in similar actions in recent years.  Desmond, Marcello & Amster is the Los Angeles consulting firm that is distributing claims to class members in settlements involving Grand View and three other cemeteries: Woodlawn Memorial Park in Compton, Paradise Memorial Park in Santa Fe Springs and Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 22, 2010 (boomark / email).