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Service Corporation International, which operates a network of more than 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries in North America, including Jewish properties in New Jersey, has been accused of dumping human remains among a host of other such activities at a Jewish cemetery in Southern California.

Sands v. Service Corporation International is the latest controversy surrounding a site owned by North America's "leading provider of deathcare products and services" (according to SCI's Web site), following this April's reports of unrefrigerated bodies being stored at an SCI facility in Virginia as well as a class action lawsuit the company settled in 2003 regarding the practices at its chain of Jewish cemeteries in Florida.

On Sept. 10, F. Charles Sands filed a class action complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court against SCI, SCI California Funeral Services, Inc., Eden Memorial Park Management Co., Eden Memorial Park Association, Eden Memorial Park, and James R. Biby, alleging that the defendants intentionally desecrated the remains of individuals buried at Eden Memorial Park, a Jewish cemetery owned by SCI in Mission Hills, Calif.

Neither the suit nor the other complaints make any allegations about any of SCI's New Jersey properties.

The plaintiffs allege that in order to maximize profits, the defendants: secretly broke and opened burial vaults; dumped and desecrated human remains, including skulls, from vaults that were improperly broken or opened; buried human remains in locations other than the plot in which the remains were to be properly buried; sold plots on top of already scattered human remains; lost the remains of individuals without disclosing that information to families; buried individuals in the wrong plots; intentionally misinformed families about the condition of plots and human remains; and intentionally spread false and misleading statements about the business practices at Eden Memorial Park.

"I find this conduct to be particularly outrageous as it appears to be targeted at the Jewish community," Michael J. Avenatti of Eagan, O'Malley & Avenatti, LLP, attorneys for the defendants, said in a phone interview with The Jewish State.

Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for SCI, said the company is investigating the matter, but stressed that for now these are just allegations. When SCI's policies are followed strictly at its funeral homes and cemeteries, those sites provide the highest standard of service in the industry, she said.

"Clearly allegations like this are concerning," Marshall said in a phone interview with The Jewish State. "They are very serious and we have to take it seriously."

"We are investigating the allegations and we are trying to get to the bottom of this," she added. "That's how we run our business."

Close to 100 plaintiffs have retained Avenatti's firm for this case so far, but that number could reach "well into the thousands" because 40,000 people are buried at Eden Memorial Park, Avenatti said.

"It's possible that every family member who has someone buried there could be part of the class," he said.

The plaintiffs are seeking punitive and compensatory damages that could reach "well into the millions," Avenatti said, but also injunctions that will prevent similar conduct by SCI in the future. State cemetery boards need to monitor activities at SCI facilities much more closely, he said.

"Ultimately, we will also call for greater scrutiny at SCI-owned facilities across the country," Avenatti said.

"In light of SCI's track record, they need to be closely scrutinized, especially when it comes to their managing of Jewish cemeteries," he added.

Avenatti said his firm has documents, witness claims, and additional forms of evidence to back up the accusations against SCI. He said he wasn't at liberty to disclose the specifics of the evidence.

This past April, the Washington Post reported that a SCI-owned facility in Falls Church, Va., stored as many as 200 bodies on "makeshift gurneys in the garage," unrefrigerated and leaking fluids onto the floor. Additionally, "at least half a dozen veterans destined for the hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery were left in their coffins on a garage rack," the Post said.

In 2003, customers in Florida filed a class action lawsuit alleging that in 2001, funeral homes in SCI's Menorah Gardens chain of Jewish cemeteries desecrated vaults, oversold cemetery plots, removed bodies from gravesites, and dumped them in the woods. SCI settled the case out of court and paid $100 million to families.

"It is nothing short of horrific," Avenatti said of SCI's behavior. "They clearly didn't learn their lesson from Florida."

Avenatti said that Bob Butterman, a former attorney general in Florida who worked on the 2003 case, has joined his team for this lawsuit. These are not criminal charges, but Avenatti is calling for a full investigation by California's attorney general, he said.

In 1992, Bruce Jacobs sold Hellman Memorial Chapels in Rockland County, N.Y., to Houston-based SCI. After initially adhering to his standards for pricing and halakha, Jacobs said SCI eventually ramped up prices at Hellman and began offering cremations, which are forbidden by Jewish law (though there are some rabbis who choose to officiate them).

The problem, Jacobs said, lies in the fact that Jews aren't involved in the decision making process of SCI's corporate hierarchy, or at any of the company's funeral homes and cemeteries.

If Jews got the chance to run SCI's Jewish homes, Jacobs said, things would be different.

"A Jewish person is knowledgeable, is sensitive, and is respectful to halakha," he said.

Marshall said in a statement that when SCI employees "see something that is concerning to them, they are required to report that to their colleagues and/or supervisors."