ALBANY - An Albany-area cemetery is ordered to pay $270,000 to families whose loved ones were buried in the wrong plots.
A state probe in 2003 found that Memory's Garden cemetery in Colonie placed bodies in the wrong grave sites and then lied to funeral directors and forged burial documents to hide its mistakes. As part of a settlement with the state, the cemetery's entire board of directors resigned.
A state Supreme Court jury awarded six relatives compensatory damages of $45,000 each in a negligence suit against the cemetery.
A decision on punitive damages - which could amount to $2.4 million, or nine times the compensation judgment - is scheduled for Thursday.
The cemetery's lawyer, Terry Hannigan, declined to comment on the verdict.
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Information from: Times Union, http://www.timesunion.com
AP-ES-07-26-08 1447EDT
A state Supreme Court jury awarded six relatives compensatory damages of $45,000 each in a negligence suit against the cemetery.
A decision on punitive damages - which could amount to $2.4 million, or nine times the compensation judgment - is scheduled for Thursday.
The cemetery's lawyer, Terry Hannigan, declined to comment on the verdict.
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Information from: Times Union, http://www.timesunion.com
AP-ES-07-26-08 1447EDT
