Complete Story
 

11/11/2009

OFDA LEGAL REPORT

BY T. SCOTT GILLIGAN

 

1.  Pennsylvania Lawsuit.   A group of funeral home and cemetery owners are challenging Pennsylvania's funeral licensing law as being unconstitutional.  This is important for Ohio funeral homes since some of the provisions being challenged in the Pennsylvania's funeral licensing law are also found in Ohio's funeral licensing law.  The four provisions which overlap include:

 

  • The ability of Board inspectors to enter a funeral home without a warrant. Ohio also has this provision.

 

  • Pennsylvania funeral home branches must be under the supervision of a full-time supervisor. Ohio has a similar provision in that each funeral home must be managed by a full-time funeral director who is not able to manage any other funeral home.

 

  • The Pennsylvania funeral licensing law requires the name of the funeral director to be on the funeral home business.  Ohio has a similar provision.

 

  • The Pennsylvania Board prohibits crematories from selling direct cremations to the public. Ohio has a similar provision in that any direct disposition company is required to have a funeral home license.

 

2.  Federal Product Safety Commission Act.  The Obama Administration is pushing a bill that would create the Federal Product Safety Commission.  This commission would be similar to the Federal Trade Commission and would have jurisdiction to regulate financial products that impact consumers.  NFDA is investigating the possibility of seeking an exclusion for preneed contracts and funding since they are already subject to state preneed laws.

 

3.  NPS Indictment.  Five felony counts of mail fraud have been brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against the former Chief Financial Officer of NPS.  This may assist regulators in locating hidden assets that could be available for settlement to funeral homes.

 

4.  FTC Shoppers in Cincinnati.  In July and September of 2009, undercover shoppers visited Cincinnati area funeral homes to test if the shopper received price lists as required by the FTC Funeral Rule.  If a funeral home failed to pass out price lists in a timely manner on two separate occasions, it received a letter from the FTC charging it with a violation of the Funeral Rule.  We know of three funeral homes that have been charged.