Funeraria del Angel Buena Vista

Justice Nelda Rodriguez noted Jan. 25 the plaintiff’s “fraud defense does not justify the denial of arbitration.” Defendants in the case are Service Corp. International and SCI Texas Funeral Services Inc.The appellate court reversed the trial court decision and remanded it back to trial, stating that the trial court erred in denying the motion to compel arbitration.Rodriguez wrote the court opinion, noting in the decision that “We find that the Interment Agreement and its arbitration clause are supported by valid consideration.” According to the opinion, Mary Ruiz hired Funeraria Del Angel Buena Vista in Brownsville to take care of the remains of her brother Ernesto Eguia after he passed away unexpectedly. Ruiz alleges that the body was embalmed after autopsy without her consent and that bugs covered her deceased brother’s face and chest on the day of the funeral. Ruiz also claimed that the funeral home employees did not fix their air conditioning after assuring her they would do so, making the bug issue worse during her brother’s funeral service.  Funeraria Del Angel is owned by Service Corp. International and SCI Texas Funeral Services Inc.Several days after the funeral, the opinion states Ruiz was called to meet with a manager from SCI who told her that her brother’s organs had not been returned to his body after the autopsy and were not buried with him. Ruiz alleges she was given the option of reopening the casket to bury the organs with her brother’s body or to have them cremated and placed next to his grave.Ruiz filed her lawsuit against SCI, claiming fraud, specifically that SCI knew and had a duty to inform her “that Ernesto’s remains were received in a condition that would cause insect infestation, that the remains had suffered a mishap or would be mishandled by SCI in a manner that would cause insect infestation, and that the remains were to be buried without internal organs,” according to the opinion. SCI filed a motion to compel arbitration, which the trial court denied.In the appeal for arbitration, SCI argued... (Southeast Texas Record)