Howard v. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Cemeteries Class Action

The Court has certified a class action against the Roman Catholic Arch Diocese for unfair business practices regarding the charges for Care and Maintenance in burial contracts from 1992 forward. The lawsuit alleges that, starting in 1992, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles engaged in deceptive and unfair business practices by charging a line item in burial contracts for Archdiocese of Los Angeles Cemeteries  for “Care and Maintenance” when, in reality, the money could be used for other purposes and some of the money was used  to settle claims brought by victims of sexual abuse. Plaintiff alleges that this conduct violated California law and that the class members are entitled to restitution of the money paid for “Care and Maintenance” and injunctive relief for the violations. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has denied any wrongdoing. The Court has not decided whether the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles did anything wrong, and the case is currently scheduled to go to trial.”