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Washington Report
June 2005
Court: Pennsylvania Funeral Board rule unconstitutional
by ICFA General Counsel Robert M. Fells, Esq.
On April 14, the U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania declared that the appointed members of the State Board of Funeral Directors may "not prohibit agents or employees of specific licensed funeral directors from providing accurate information to consumers regarding the sale of preneed funeral plans and services."
The court, in its 57-page decision in Walker, et al., v. Flitton, et al., stated that the board "has no evidence, and we cannot comprehend that any exists, in support of its implicit argument that only a licensed funeral director has the training and capability to distribute an accurate price list of funeral services."
The court also pointed out that none of the defendant board members "put forth any evidence that consumers had been harmed by the unlicensed solicitation of preneed funeral services," noting that at least 34 states allow unlicensed agents of funeral directors or third parties to sell preneed funeral plans.
While only licensed funeral directors in Pennsylvania can approve preneed contracts, the court held that the board's conduct to ban any communications by unlicensed agents of funeral directors was an unconstitutional violation of commercial free speech.
A summary of the court's decision may be viewed at: www.icfa.org/pdf/paboard_preneed.pdf.
Copyright ICFA 2005
ICFA testifies on burial benefits
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