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Posted: Tuesday, 01 December 2009 6:59AM
Suit: Funeral home tried to squeeze man in too small casket
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- A coffin too small for the deceased, allegations of fraud by a cemetery and a run-in with police have led a Hammond, Ind. man to file a lawsuit claiming the alleged greed of a Cook County funeral home resulted in a spoiled service.
According to the suit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, on Nov. 29, 2007, one day before Ronald Jones' funeral, Thomas B. Owens was informed by the director at Gatlin Funeral Home in South Holland that Owens' deceased brother-in-law -- Jones -- was too big for his seven-foot coffin, and the lid would not close. Jones' body had been in the coffin for two days at that point.
On the same day, Owens was accused of fraud by Mount Greenwood Memorial Garden, where the deceased was to be buried, since Gatlin falsely reported to Greenwood that the coffin was eight-feet long and the burial site could only accommodate a seven-foot coffin, the suit said.
The morning of the funeral, Nov. 30, 2007 about 8 a.m., Owens brought his two sons -- both minors -- to the funeral home to help him reposition the body in the coffin so that the lid would close. Four Chicago Police officers soon arrived on the scene and chided Owens for having his young sons help move a dead body, the suit said.
The coffin was finally closed and the service commenced an hour late. Owens claims that the source of the fiasco was "greed" on the part of Gatlin. Owens has requested Gatlin provide counseling, a verbal apology and an unnamed amount of money.
The suit -- claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress -- is addressed as a letter dated July 17, 2008 to the Funeral Ethics Association, 215 S. Grand Ave., West Springfield, Ill.
Gatling Chapel Inc. is listed at 1200 E. 162nd St. in South Holland, according to an online directory.
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