11/04/03 - Families up in arms about Menorah Gardens manager appointed

Families up in arms about Menorah Gardens manager appointed--was previously part of State appointed examiner’s office – Judge Art Wroble to rule –Wednesday - 8:45 a.m.

For Additional Information Contact:
Kim Sailer 561-684-6500 or
Cara Kadyszewski, WPO, 561-626-0026, ext. 19 or
Kyle Zimmer, WPO, 561-626-0026, ext. 17

November 4, 2003

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Attorney Ted Leopold of Ricci~Leopold, P.A. has filed a motion in the circuit court of the 15th judicial circuit asking the court to intervene in appointment of Scott Berman as manager of the Menorah Gardens cemetery in West Palm Beach.  Prior to his hiring by Menorah whose parent company is Service Corporation International (SCI), Berman had been appointed by the Attorney General Examiner’s Office as burial supervisor for the Menorah Gardens facilities in West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. 

Menorah Gardens is being sued by hundreds of area families, whom Ricci~Leopold, P.A. represents.  The Plaintiffs’ suit asserts a number of claims against Menorah Gardens/Service Corporation International which include:  secretly breaking and opening burial vaults and dumping remains in a wooded area where the remains may have been consumed by wild animals; burying remains in locations other than those purchased by plaintiffs; crushing burial vaults in order to make room for other vaults; burying remains on top of the other rather than side-by-side; secretly digging up and removing remains; secretly burying remains head-to-foot rather than side-by-side; secretly mixing body parts and remains from different individuals; secretly allowing plots owned by one party to be occupied by a different person; secretly selling plots in rows where there were more graves assigned than the rows could accommodate; secretly allowing graves to encroach on other plots; secretly selling plots so narrow that the plots could not accommodate standard burial vaults; secretly participating in the desecration of gravesites and markers and otherwise failing to exercise reasonable care in handling the plaintiffs’ loved ones’ remains.

Judge to hear another Menorah Gardens issue (2)

In reaction to the number of continuing complaints as well as a Florida Attorney General’s (AG) investigation into Menorah Gardens/SCI, the AG appointed an examiner to oversee Menorah Gardens.  “This is basically like having a polar bear guard a group of seals,” said Leopold.  “Mr. Berman works for the Attorney General’s office and suddenly is hired by Menorah.  Plaintiffs understood and were assured that with the appointment of an examiner and their staff that a ‘Chinese wall’ of sorts would exist between this body and Menorah Gardens.  It is now plain to understand that it did not, nor does it now.  Mr. Berman’s easy transition from the Examiner’s office to the defendant’s payroll would suggest the wall crumbled, or, that it never existed.  The families involved here feel no comfort level after learning of this relationship, nor no I believe anyone would.  The independence and integrity of the Examiner’s office is indeed at risk,” he added. 

The courts were responsible for appointing the Examiner; plaintiffs in the motion are requesting that the court conduct an investigation into this appointment and the propriety of defendants’ hiring Berman to manage the cemetery.

In recent exhumations conducted by Leopold, his staff and other experts it was determined that graves were in the wrong places in the cemetery, had been disturbed and that pre-sold plots were not large enough now to accommodate a standard burial vault.  Leopold will be conducting other exhumations in the next several weeks.

The Honorable Art Wroble will hear the motion in court (205 N. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL) on Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at 8:45 a.m.

Theodore J. Leopold is a partner in the law firm of Ricci~Leopold, P.A. The firm founded in 1982, has five attorneys and is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with offices located at 2925 PGA Blvd.  Ted Leopold can be contacted at 561-684-6500.  Additional information about Ricci~Leopold, P.A. may be obtained from the firm’s website at www.riccilaw.com.  A copy of the motion is available on the firm’s website – click “News & Events” on the menu bar at the left on the firm’s homepage, then “Legal News” then “Legal News & Updates”, them “Menorah” - Menorah Gardens Motion for Evidentiary Hearing.”

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