COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Faria, et al. v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County, Case No. MSC18-00606.  On March 26, 2018, six Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., our subsidiary, their alleged employer, on behalf of themselves and all similarly situated current and former employees. Plaintiffs seek monetary damages and claim that Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. failed to pay minimum wages, provide meal and rest breaks, provide accurately itemized wage statements, reimburse employees for required expenses, and provide wages when due. Plaintiffs also claim that Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. violated California Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq. On June 5, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint to add a claim under the California Private Attorney General Act. On October 23, 2018, the parties mediated this matter and executed a Memorandum of Understanding for class settlement. In February 2019, a Class Action Settlement Agreement was fully executed, which will be submitted to the Court for preliminary approval. The Court has set a preliminary approval hearing date of May 9, 2019, which date is subject to change by the Court. We anticipate that the Court will preliminarily approve the Class Action Settlement Agreement. If the Class Action Settlement Agreement is preliminarily approved by the Court, the class claims process will then proceed. At December 31, 2018, we accrued $650,000 for the estimated settlement amount related to this case. At March 31, 2019, we determined the accrual to be adequate.