Newport Beach : More Survivors Sue for Mishandling of Remains

A Corona del Mar mortuary, facing a $300,000 judgment for botching a cremation and burial, was sued Monday by 10 other customers who alleged similar mishandling of remains.

Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary was accused of conducting multiple cremations, commingling ashes, and removing gold and other precious metals from the teeth of corpses, according to the Superior Court lawsuit.

In February, a jury found that Pacific View, a combined mortuary, cemetery and crematory, botched one cremation and burial. Jurors fixed damages at $300,000 in favor of an 82-year-old widow, Ruth Wiese, after evidence showed an urn containing her husband’s exhumed remains included a tooth that did not belong to him.

In the Wiese trial, a Pacific View employee testified that he routinely collected teeth--often containing precious metals--for disposal separate from the rest of the corpse.

Lawyers in the case filed Monday--Federico C. Sayre and Betty J. McMullen, who also represented Wiese--sought to have their lawsuit declared a class action.

If they succeed, relatives who purchased funeral services involving cremations since 1974 could join together in a single action against Pacific View. The lawsuit stated that at least 1,000 cremations had taken place in that period.

No damages were specified in the lawsuit.