A former employee at Oceanside's Eternal Hills Cemetery & Mortuary has filed a lawsuit accusing the mortuary of double-selling plots because of shoddy record-keeping, permitting employees to look at bodies after "horrendous accidents" and other troublesome practices, according to a published report.
An attorney for Eternal Hills said it vigorously disputes the allegations. And a spokesman for a state regulatory agency told North County Times reporter Craig TenBroeck Tuesday it has received no complaints about such problems at Eternal Hills.
The employee, Angela Maney-Sorrell, sued the company in October, alleging she was demoted in retaliation for pointing out problems during her 21 years at Eternal Hills.
Among the allegations:
- Selling plots to illegal immigrants in an area intended for military families
- Moving cremated remains without obtaining signatures of survivors
- Double-selling of plots "on numerous occasions"
- Selling premium packages to families without providing the promised goods and services
- Permitting employees to enter the preparation area to view people who had committed suicide or died in horrible accidents.
The cemetery is the largest in North County. It is owned by SCI California Funeral Services Inc., a subsidiary of Houston-based Service Corp. International, which owns and operates more than 1,300 funeral homes and 350 cemeteries.
Read more about the lawsuit in the article in the North County Times.
