Professional Negligence Law Reporter
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Failure to Return Cremains
March/April 2019Hood v. S.E. Funeral Homes of Ala., LLC, No. CV-17- 900635 (Ala. Cir. Ct. Mobile Cnty. Feb. 22, 2019).
After the death of her 90-year-old mother, Shelley Hood contacted Pine Crest Funeral Home to make arrangements. Hood and the home’s director agreed that after her mother’s cremation, her cremains would stay in the home’s custody for an indefinite period until the family was able to travel overseas to effectuate the mother’s end of life wish that her ashes be scattered in Scotland.
Approximately four years later, Hood contacted the home and was told that they could not find her mother’s cremains. The home’s representatives allegedly continued to look for the cremains, but they were never located or returned to Hood. Hood, who was in her 70s, suffered emotional distress. She sued S.E. Funeral Homes of Alabama, LLC, the home’s owner, alleging breach of contract, negligence, and wantonness. The jury awarded $12 million, including $10 million in punitive damages.
Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Michael L. Roberts, Donald D. Knowlton, and Gregory S. Cusimano, all of Gadsden, Ala.; and Jeffrey Hester, Pelham, Ala.
