Howard Funeral Service

Shelley Hood was awarded the money after Pine Crest Funeral Home in Mobile lost the remains of her mother, Cecille Howard Taylor Gardner, sometime after she died on March 24, 2011, according to publicly available court documents. Hood first inquired about the remains in October 2015 and was repeatedly told by management they would be found, according to court documents. In December 2016, the general manager of the company finally told Hood that the remains had not been located and no record existed of where they might be.Hood filed a civil suit in March 2017 and the jury’s verdict was announced by the family Monday.The jury found the in favor of Hood on four of the six counts, including negligence and breach of contract, according to court documents.A mediator has been appointed to assist with the settlement.The family was represented by attorneys Donald Knowlton and Mike Roberts from the Cusimano, Roberts & Mills firm of Gadsden and attorney Jeff Hester of Pelham.“This case is about a funeral home’s failure to respect and honor the dignity of a family member’s life,” said Knowlton.Hester added, “We were honored to help this wonderful family find justice.”Pine Crest Funeral Home is owned by Service Corporation International (SCI), a leading provider of death care services and products in North America. SCI has approximately 24,000 employees and operates more than 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries.