CR&M attorneys won a $12 million trial verdict against a funeral home corporation for losing the cremated remains of our client’s mother.
The client was represented at trial by Donald Knowlton and Michael Roberts of Cusimano, Roberts & Mills, LLC, Gadsden, Alabama, and Jeffrey Hester of Pelham, Alabama. Greg Cusimano, nationally recognized for his expertise in jury consulting and focus groups, was also part of the trial team.
The jury found in our favor on wantonness, negligence, and breach of contract, and awarded $2 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. The funeral home agreed to keep the cremated remains of plaintiff’s 90-year- old mother until she was ready to retrieve them, but when she did so, the funeral home was unable to find them. Our trial team showed that the funeral home failed to follow the law and its own company requirements for identification and tracking records of remains.
“This case is about a funeral home’s failure to respect and honor the dignity of a family member’s life,” the family’s attorney Donald Knowlton said.
The defendant Pine Crest Funeral Home is an affiliate of Service Corporation International, the largest provider of funeral home services in North America.
Hood v S.E. Funeral Homes of Alabama, LLC, Mobile County Circuit Court CV-17-900635
