Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery 09/20/09
Finally some good news for the beleaguered landmark Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale. I’ve been covering the story on this blog for more than a year. I got an e-mail a short while ago from Attorney Paul Ayers declaring a major legal decision: “Class counsel is pleased to announce a settlement in the Grand View Memorial Park class action lawsuit… The settlement includes compensation to class members and a $500,000.00 fund to be used to help restore the cemetery.”
Also in the notice of class action settlement document from the Los Angeles Superior Court, which was attached to Ayers’ e-mail, the proposed settlement is valued at $3,875,500.00 minus the half million for the cemetery restoration fund. The lawyers involved in the class action will get a cut for their fees and that is estimated to be around $1,161,750.00.
All those folks involved in the class action who want a piece of the settlement must file a claim with the Grand View Claims Administrator by December 7, 2009. A final approval hearing for the settlement has been set for January 14, 2010 in L.A. Superior Court.
Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove
The 125-year-old cemetery was once a lush green place of rest, but not anymore. Grand View fell on hard times a few years ago and most recently, it has been opened only periodically by the order of a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. The most serious problems for the cemetery began in 2005 when a state investigator discovered thousands of human remains that hadn’t been properly handled.
The class action lawsuit alleged a number of charges dealing with grave sites and the mishandling of remains: among them converting single-use graves to multiple graves and selling cemetery plots that did not exit. The settlement is separate from these complaints, the merits of which have yet to be ruled on by the judge in the case, Anthony J. Mohr.
