CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office has won a court order demanding a Monroe County funeral home suspend a portion of its business until it and its owners provide proper documentation to comply with a state audit.
The order requires Lobban Funeral Home and its owners, Sarah E. and Karen Lobban, to cease providing preneed funeral contracts to consumers until all obligations are met.
“Funeral homes offering preneed funeral or burial contracts must do so lawfully,” Morrisey said in a press release. “My office is committed to protecting West Virginia consumers from potentially damaging business practices.”
In June, the AG's office filed an enforcement action against the funeral home and its owners alleging they violated the state’s Preneed Funeral Contracts Act and Preneed Burial Contracts Rule.
The action claimed Lobban Funeral Home, located in Alderson, failed to submit to a state-mandated audit of its records and, even after the filing of June’s enforcement action, failed to provide documentation to allow for completion of the same audit.
State law and legislative rules require funeral homes to maintain records pertaining to the sale, management and control of preneed funeral/burial contracts and make them available to the state.
The Monroe Circuit Court order gives Lobban Funeral Home until Sept. 15 to comply with the conditions of the audit. It also demands the funeral home reimburse all costs incurred in connection with the matter.
Monroe Circuit Court case number 17-P-22