A Dallas jury has ruled that a Dallas funeral home wrongfully moved the remains of an 81-year-old man’s parents without his knowledge or permission.
The unanimous verdict, delivered Thursday, found Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery liable for negligence and ordered Restland to pay $200,000 to Louis Dorfman – a Dallas businessman, attorney and wild animal rescue activist – for the mental anguish he suffered after learning his parents’ remains had been moved.
The jury of nine women and three men issued the verdict after five hours of deliberations and two days of testimony.
Patrick Madden, who represented Restland at trial, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dorfman’s parents were moved in 2015 from Restland to the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park shortly after his brother, Sam Dorfman, passed away. The remains were moved at the request of Stacey Dorfman Kivowitz and Samuel Grant Dorfman – Sam’s children and Louis’ niece and nephew – so that they could be laid to rest with their deceased father and other relatives at Sparkman-Hillcrest.
Dorfman said he didn’t find out about the move until January 2017 and sued Restland last June.
In his lawsuit, Dorfman alleged Restland knowingly signed false consent forms that said his niece and nephew were next of kin. He also alleged the lengthy and elaborate disinterment process took place despite obvious legal barriers and despite the fact that Dorfman was well-known to the operators of Restland as his parents’ next-of-kin.
A spokesperson with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that a special prosecutor has been named to determine if a crime was committed when Dorfman’s parents were moved.
During trial, the jury heard from Amie Douglas, Restland’s funeral director, who testified it is Restland’s policy to accept a person’s word “on good faith” that they are next of kin, and that she did no additional research to confirm whether the niece and nephew were truly Mr. Dorfman’s parents’ closest next of kin.
According to a press release circulated on behalf of Mr. Dorfman, Douglas was unapologetic. When asked if she felt Mr. Dorfman was owed an apology, Douglas, who personally handled the disinterment of Mr. Dorfman’s parents, replied, “I don’t feel that I’ve done anything wrong.”
Jurors also heard from General Manager of Cemetery Operations Michael Day, who testified that Restland has no plans to change its policy, even though Mr. Dorfman’s attorney, Michael Gruber, pointed out that a simple online search would have revealed the existence of his client, who is relatively well-known in the DFW area.
“To hear Restland’s own employees say they wouldn’t do anything differently is heartbreaking,” Louis Dorfman said in a statement. “It’s also scary since this could well happen to someone else based on Restland’s current policies. My hope is [the] verdict will prevent something like this from ever happening again.”
In a statement, Jill Tananbaum, who represents the niece and nephew (who were not named as defendants in this lawsuit), said her clients disclosed their uncle’s existence to Restland and provided his contact information “immediately upon request and long before the disinterment took place.”
“They relied on Restland’s expertise; they followed Restland’s instructions,” she said.