Jerry Moon
The manager of Brown Mortuary says he is standing behind the findings of the state Department of Licensing when it comes to liability for a 2013 mix-up that resulted in a pair of bodies being switched prior to funeral services.
Daniel LaPlaunt, who manages Brown Mortuary and Sticklin Funeral Home, responded after an attorney for the family of Jerry Moon filed a lawsuit in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday.
Dahl McVicker Funeral Home in Kelso was ultimately charged with unprofessional conduct and fined $12,500 for misidentifying the bodies of Jerry D. Moon, 72, Castle Rock, and Robert Petitclerc, 97, Kelso, after an extensive investigation by the state agency.
The error resulted in Moon being cremated while Petitclerc’s body was found inside the casket at Moon’s funeral in Chehalis.
“The fact does abide that we have been exonerated to any guilt according to the Washington State Department of Licensing … Their investigation was extremely thorough,” LaPlaunt said.
The Associated Press first reported that a lawsuit had been filed Tuesday.
LaPlaunt said many of the details of the report were incorrect, and he had not seen a copy of the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon.
According to The Associated Press:
Jerry Moon had prepaid Brown Mortuary Service $4,655 for his funeral services, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Lewis County Superior Court. His lawyer said he didn't want to be cremated and arranged to be buried in a family plot in Chehalis.
The prepaid services also included embalming, a funeral and a graveside service, according to The Associated Press.
When Moon died Oct. 13, 2013 at a Longview hospice, the Dahl McVicker Funeral Home wrongly identified the body.
No identification bracelet was placed on his body and Moon's bracelet was instead placed on another body prior to transportation to Brown Mortuary, the lawsuit said.
On Oct. 14, 2013, when Moon's widow, Janice Moon, and the family members met with Brown Mortuary representatives, they were given a bill for $8,834, the lawsuit alleges.
At the Oct. 21, 203, funeral, the mix-up was discovered. The lawsuit claims attendees were “horrified,” but LaPlaunt said the matter was handled quietly. The suit also claims a plastic bag was used to cover the body’s head, but LaPlaunt said it was a plastic liner commonly used by the mortuary.
Brown Mortuary initially said the body was Moon, but later said he had been cremated on Oct. 17, 2013 by mistake, according to the lawsuit. The mortuary later sent a $92.72 refund check to Janice Moon, according to the lawsuit.
The mortuary is part of a funeral service chain owned by the Texas-based Service Corporation International.
The lawsuit says the mortuary acted "fraudulently and with malice in its handling of Jerry Moon's body," and conspired to cover-up the fact that Moon had been mistakenly cremated.
The family is seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress.
LaPlaunt denies the claims.
“We have people whose livelihoods are litigation looking for a deep pocket,” he said, referring to the attorney who filed the lawsuit. “We believe we served the family as best we could under the circumstances.”
Lawsuit aside, LaPlaunt said he still feels for the families of those impacted.
"I am just mindful of that dear family,” he said. “Both families involved."
The Mix-Up
A Dahl McVicker employee, Norm Burns, reportedly failed to place identification bracelets on the remains of both men when he transported them from Community Home Health and Hospice in Longview. Burns then brought the bodies back to the funeral home, where he placed the wrong bracelets on the two bodies, according to the Department of Licensing report.
At the funeral home, another employee transported the remains of Moon, labeled “Robert Petitclerc,” to Longview Memorial Park Crematory for cremation. The remains of Petitclerc, labeled “Jerry Moon,” were transported to Sticklin Funeral Chapel, and then Brown Mortuary in Chehalis, for funeral preparations.
Brown Mortuary was not found to be at fault, state Department of Licensing spokeswoman Christine Anthony said last year.
“In our investigation we found they were unaware of the misidentification of the remains and we felt they were not in any violation.” Anthony said. “It would be a violation if they had known. Everything pointed back to Dahl McVicker.”
The funeral mishap in Chehalis occurred on Monday, Oct. 21, 2013, when Moon was supposed to be buried following a funeral. When funeral staff opened the casket at the service at Brown Mortuary, the body of Petitclerc was inside.
Petitclerc had wished to be cremated. Moon had wished to be buried.
The men died within one hour of each other on Oct. 13 at Community Home Health Care & Hospice.
The Kelso funeral home has taken responsibility for mistakenly cremating Moon and shipping Petitclerc’s body to Chehalis, Anthony said in 2014.
