Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
The Springfield Journal-Register reported last week on the latest lawsuit to hit Merrill Lynch, the IFDA and the law firm that represented the Association.
One aspect of the lawsuit focuses upon the claim that the key man insurance policies sold to the master trust were not suitable investments. Without an insurable interest, the policies could…
The Illinois Funeral Directors Association is living out its own version of A Christmas Carol, with the Ghost of Yet to Come having painted a fate similar to that of Scrooge.
The court decision reported by the Memorial Business Journal* has all but sealed the fate of the Association. While the attorneys can…
According to Wikipedia,
Regulation is "controlling human or societal behavior by rules or restrictions." Regulation can take many forms including legal restrictions promulgated by a government authority…….
So, regulators are charged with the task of interpreting “legal restrictions” and determining what businesses can or cannot do. When the applicable law is well drafted, and further…
In rejecting the $18 million settlement forced upon IFDA members, an Illinois Circuit Court is telling Merrill Lynch Life Agency to dig deeper into its pocket to compensate funeral homes. As reported by the Springfield Journal-Register, the $18 million represents the revenues the insurance broker received from the sale of key man insurance to…
The wait for Ms. Garrett’s lawsuit against NPS, the Cassity family (and anyone remotely connected with the Cassity Consortium) ended on August 7th.
If half of the allegations made in the NPS Complaint are true, the misconduct perpetrated on funeral homes and consumers is shocking to say the least. The Complaint provides a bevy of…
It didn’t take long for an Illinois funeral director to confirm that IFDA members have disagreements with their association leadership.
Several Illinois funeral homes filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on January 28th. The petition, a derivative complaint, seeks remedies and damages on behalf of all Illinois funeral homes that participated in the IFDA master…
Last October, the Illinois Funeral Directors Association posted some “Frequently Asked Questions” on their website. The FAQ page was intended to address questions and concerns raised by funeral directors and consumers about changes being made to the IFDA Master Trust. Page 6 of that FAQ was addressed to the Illinois families that had…
Trust a lawyer to add to the tension between clergy and the funeral director.
A Kentucky priest felt the need to re-establish the ground rules for funerals conducted in his parish, and a local funeral director took offense. Claiming the rules were "an intentional and wrongful interference" with his business, the funeral director brought suit against the Archdiocese of Louisville.
The lawsuit has the…
The class action lawsuit brought against the NPS affiliates on Friday, June 20th reflects the despair that some funeral directors are experiencing over the situation. Although litigation to recover assets from the Cassity Empire was inevitable, this lawsuit has flaws that need to be corrected through an organized effort brought by the states’ regulators.
Funeral…