Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A Michigan appellate court held that a funeral home may be liable for negligently proceeding with a cremation before determining whether a proper autopsy had been accomplished.

After Richard Wahl’s death, his wife, Kathryn, contracted with the John Molnar Funeral Home, Inc., to transfer Richard’s body to the funeral home and cremate his remains. Kathryn later met with Molnar’s funeral director, Kelli Johnson, and informed her that she wanted to have an autopsy performed to determine Richard’s cause of death. Johnson agreed to rent Wahl a room in the funeral home so that an autopsy could be performed there but told her that Molnar did not perform autopsies. Kathryn then contracted with Shawn Parcells and National Autopsy and Tissue Recovery Services, Inc., which sent a representative to perform an autopsy on Richard in Molnar’s facility.

When it looked as if the autopsy was complete, Johnson called Kathryn and asked for permission to cremate the body. The next day, Kathryn sent Johnson a message, allowing her to move forward with the cremation, which occurred that day.

The following year, Kathryn and Richard’s daughter sued John Molnar Funeral Home, Inc., alleging negligence and emotional distress claims. The plaintiff asserted that the defendant had breached duties to determine the qualifications of the representative sent by National Autopsy, supervise the autopsy, and ensure the purposes of the autopsy were accomplished before proceeding with the cremation. National Autopsy never provided a report or the results of any testing performed on Richard’s tissue samples, the plaintiff claimed. The trial court denied the defense’s motion for summary judgment.

Reversing in part and affirming in part, the appellate court noted that the parties had a limited relationship and that the defendant had owed no duties related to the performance of the autopsy itself. Citing case law, however, the court found the defendant had a contractual duty to accurately inform Kathryn when the autopsy had been completed and to use reasonable care in doing so. The court therefore concluded that discovery, including deposing Johnson, was needed to determine whether the defendant had mispresented that the autopsy was completed.

Consequently, the court remanded.

Citation: Wahl v. John Molnar Funeral Home, Inc., 2022 WL 495079 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 17, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Christopher P. Desmond, Detroit.