Eagan O’Malley & Avenatti, LLP (“EOA”) has been aggressively pursuing this matter on a near daily basis during the last ten months. For instance, since the filing of the class action on September 10, 2009, we have deposed twenty-one (21) current and former employees of Eden Memorial Park Cemetery/Service Corporation International ("SCI), and two (2) individuals with the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. And we anticipate taking an additional seventeen (17) depositions before the end of August. A deposition is an opportunity for attorneys, on behalf of their clients, to question a witness under oath similar to the questioning that occurs at a trial.
The depositions completed thus far in this case have unfortunately confirmed our worst fears. The evidence indicates there has been a pervasive practice of grave disturbances and desecrations at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery spanning an approximate 30 year time period. A number of groundskeepers and supervisors have admitted under oath they routinely damaged and broke burial vaults containing human remains, sometimes as much as two to three times per week. These groundskeepers and supervisors have further admitted that many times this would cause human remains, including bones, to spill out of the broken burial vaults. According to the sworn testimony, the groundskeepers were often instructed by the cemetery to discard any remaining bones, pieces of burial shrouds or broken casket remnants in the cemetery dump located at the northern most section of the cemetery.
Because the practice was pervasive, the cemetery did not keep records of which burial vaults were broken. Moreover, because the vaults are buried under ground, it is impossible to visually identify, from above the ground, which graves were disturbed. There are, however, non-invasive procedures available to allow family members to identify broken vaults without disturbing the decedent’s grave and we are consulting with experts about the possible use of these procedures.
The Court held the preliminary injunction hearing or “mini-trial” on May 13 and 14, 2010 and June 11, 2010. It is still ongoing and we have a continued hearing date on August 13, 2010.
Information Current As Of July 9, 2010