Thursday, October 29, 2009
Burr Oak Cemetery civil suit seeks closure
by Wendell Hutson
A lawsuit filed on behalf of 400 Black plaintiffs is seeking to reopen the scandalplagued Burr Oak Cemetery.
The suit filed in July but amended Oct. 2 in Cook County Circuit Court against Perpetua Inc., parent owner of Burr Oak, also seeks to have evidence maintained and unspecified monetary damages, which will be determined by a jury. The suit names seven other Perpetua subsidiaries and two Perpetua executives, Melvin Bryant and Felix Villalba, as defendants in the suit.
Bryant, CEO of Perpetua, did not return phones calls seeking comment.
For now, class-action status for the lawsuit has been put on hold in light of Perpetua filing bankruptcy. And while the suit is moving forward, Deidre Baumann, whose law firm Baumann & Shuldiner is representing the plaintiffs, said she expects it to eventually be given class-action status.
“I am looking for others to join the suit as time goes on. What happened at Burr Oak has affected families all across America, so this incident is not restricted to Chicago,” she said. “We would like to see the cemetery reopen this year. Families are hurting and need closure and for many of them it is visiting the gravesite where loved ones are buried.”
She added that Horwitz, Richardson & Baker LLC law firm is also representing a bulk of the plaintiffs. Seven other law firms are also involved in the suit.
Individuals wanting to become part of the suit must do so through a law firm of their choice.
Kenyan Foster, 56, could be the next plaintiff to join the suit. He buried his mother at Burr Oak in 1982 and said he is now deciding whether to join the suit.
“All I know is that her body has not been found and I know it’s there,” Foster told the Defender. “I visited her gravesite each year on her birthday, Memorial Day and Mother’s Day. Maybe this lawsuit could bring closure for me.”
Recently, attorneys representing the plaintiffs were granted access to the cemetery after filing a motion in court early in the month ago. Additionally, the suit is seeking that Perpetua Inc. maintain the upkeep of the cemetery, something Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said was not done.
However, a U.S. Bankruptcy judge limited their inspection to video taping only and they were prohibited from touching or moving any objects, questioning the staff and obtaining other information.
The suit alleges that not only are headstones missing but so are caskets and bodies that were originally interred by Burr Oak employees.
Jacqueline Renee Benson, an infant, was born May 26, 1968 and died Sept. 20, 1969, according to the suit. Four days later she was buried in the Babyland section at Burr Oak. The section is called Babyland because that is where small children were buried. The body, casket or headstone for Benson is now missing and Burr Oak employees have been unable to locate her remains.
And the suit also accuses Perpetua of seven counts of misconduct including breach of contract, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Perpetua filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. By doing so legal experts said it diminishes the likelihood that plaintiffs would be able to collect a huge monetary award. It also gave Perpetua the legal authority to regain daily management at Burr Oak, which had been run by a court-appointed receiver since July.
Baumann added that she is not worried about not receiving any monetary relief because only three Perpetua corporations have filed for bankruptcy.
“We originally filed the suit before Perpetua filed for bankruptcy relief and there are company executives and other subsidiaries that could be found liable and ordered to pay damages,” she said.
The four Burr Oak employees facing criminal charges in the case are now out on bail. The final defendant, cemetery manager Carolyn Towns, was released last week after posting $25,000 cash bond.
