Resolving Forever: How The Pregen Firm Handled a Fort Lauderdale Cemetery Mix-Up
Sep 23
2 min read
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Recently, a family now residing in Texas approached The Pregen Firm concerning a contract they made to have their matriarch buried next to their late father.
In 2013, Ms. George entered into a contract with Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery (owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale) whereby she would be buried directly next to her late husband, who was also buried at the cemetery. She signed and paid in full. Just days ago, she passed away.
Her family learned that the plot she had purchased had been sold to someone else and to make things worse, that someone had already been buried in the plot. The family was told that their mother could be buried elsewhere or their father could be exhumed. Obviously, this was unacceptable. A contract for internment is not like most contracts. Most times, we can demand specific performance (requiring the other side to do what they agreed to). Here, where someone had already been buried in the exact plot that was supposed to be reserved for Ms. George, specific performance seemed impossible.
CBS News covered the initial story here
Some contracts, especially internment contracts, are sacred. They are designed to last into eternity. Ms. George expected that when she signed that contract, she was ensuring her resting place next to her husband.
To complicate things, the funeral home that facilitated the internment contract and was actually the entity that purchased the plot on paper, was the one the City of Fort Lauderdale pointed its finger at as the responsible party.
As far as The Pregen Firm was concerned, however, the funeral home was merely a broker for (an agent of) the city owned cemetery. Indeed, the contract itself stated that the funeral home was the cemetery's broker. This is a prime example of how important careful contract review can be. The result can be that the responsible party, or parties, are forced to fight amongst themselves as to how things are going to be made right. The Pregen Firm made things right.
See CBS Miami's coverage of the conclusion here:
We were so happy to learn that for the George family, our efforts paid off. Ms. George made a vow to her late husband on their wedding day to stand by him in sickness and in health, until death do us part. Fortunately, we were able to deliver even more.
