Procedural Posture

Plaintiffs, brother and sister of decedent, challenged the judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California) that granted summary judgment in favor of defendant mortuary in an action for negligently conducting the funeral service by wrongfully substituting the body of another in place of decedent.

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Overview

Defendant mortuary was granted summary judgment against plaintiffs, brother and sister of decedent, in a negligence action based on defendant's substitution of the wrong body at decedent's funeral. The court affirmed, finding that because there was no allegation of a contractual relationship, defendant owed no contractual duty to plaintiffs to properly conduct the funeral service, whereas an action by plaintiffs' brother, who contracted to pay for funeral services, was allowed. The court held that plaintiffs were owed no legal duty by defendant under tort law either because any right or duty to control the disposition of the body lied with decedent's surviving husband, then her surviving parents and children, before coming to them. The court found that, even if a negligence action was proper, the complaint did not state a cause of action based upon malice in fact, for which plaintiffs would have been entitled to exemplary damages under Cal. Civ. Code § 3294, because the allegation of wanton and wilful conduct was merely conclusory.

Outcome

The order awarding summary judgment against plaintiffs, brother and sister of decedent, in an action against defendant mortuary for negligently conducting the funeral service by wrongfully substituting the body of another in place of decedent was affirmed upon a finding that plaintiffs alleged nothing from which to determine that defendant owed them a contractual duty or legal duty in tort.