State Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors v. The Stone Casket Company of Oklahoma City

State Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors v. The Stone Casket Company of Oklahoma City
1999 OK CIV APP 19
976 P.2d 1074
70 OBJ 1243
Case Number: 90123
Decided: 10/02/1998
Mandate Issued: 02/19/1999

RELEASE FOR PUBLICATION BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS;
THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA,
DIVISION I.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA ex rel. STATE BOARD OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS, Plaintiff / Appellant,
v.
THE STONE CASKET COMPANY OF OKLAHOMA CITY, Defendant / Appellee.

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA;
Honorable John Amick, Judge.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahoma, Joseph L. McCormick, IV, Assistant Attorney General, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Plaintiff / Appellant,
Melvin R. McVay, Jr., Heather L. Hintz, Phillips, McFall, McCaffrey, McVay & Murrah, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Defendant / Appellee.

OPINION

GARRETT, Judge                                                                           

¶1Appellee, The Stone Casket Company of Oklahoma City, was selling caskets directly to the public. Appellant, The State of Oklahoma ex rel. State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, filed an action for injunction and an application for temporary restraining order against the Casket Company alleging it was unlicensed, and therefore was violating 59 O.S. 1991 §396.6.

¶2State Board contends the court erred in finding the above statutes unconstitutional and, the court abused its discretion in denying State's request for an injunction to enforce them against Casket Company. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that no state "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Equal Protection Clause requires only that the classification "rationally further a legitimate state interest" unless a classification "jeopardizes exercise of a fundamental right" or it "characterizes based upon an inherently suspect characteristic." Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1,112 S. Ct. 2326, 120 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1992) (citing Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc., 473 U.S. 432, 105 S. Ct. 3249, 87 L. Ed. 2d 313 (1985); New Orleans v. Duke, 427 U.S. 297, 96 S. Ct. 2513, 49 L. Ed. 2d 511 (1976).

¶3We hold there is no overriding fundamental right jeopardized and no suspect class is involved. We must determine whether the statutes, insofar as they affect a citizen's right to sell caskets, rationally furthers a legitimate state interest. We hold the statutes do, and therefore the lower court's finding of unconstitutionality is reversed. The State has a legitimate interest in regulating funeral services because those services relate to the preparation and disposal of human remains. Such laws protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Oklahoma. Caskets are directly involved in the burial of human remains. A casket is a part of the funeral service business and cannot be separated as an independent item. The casket, in which human remains are buried directly impacts sanitation.

¶4The State contends the trial court erred when it relied upon early equal protection cases and urges us to consider only more recent cases. Since we hold that the manufacture and sale of caskets is part and parcel of the funeral service business, and regulating that business and licensing qualified persons engaged therein is a proper exercise of the police power of the State, we need not consider that issue further. We reverse with directions to the lower court to enter judgment for State Board against Casket Company as prayed, which includes the requested injunction.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

JOPLIN, P.J., concurs;

JONES, V.C.J., dissents.

FOOTNOTES

1 That statute provides in pertinent part:

A. No person shall operate a funeral establishment or limited service establishment, engage in the sale of any funeral service merchandise to the public, provide funeral services, carry on the business or profession of embalming or funeral directing or perform any of the functions, duties, or powers prescribed for funeral directors or embalmers pursuant to the provisions of the Funeral Services Licensing Act unless such person has obtained the license specified by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the Funeral Services Licensing Act and has otherwise complied with the provisions of the Funeral Services Licensing Act. Said license shall be nontransferable and nonnegotiable. (Footnote omitted).

2 59 O.S. 1991 §396.2(2)(d) provides:

2. "Funeral director" means a person who:

***

d. sells funeral service merchandise to the public;

59 O.S. 1991 §396.3(a)(1)(c) provides:

The following persons, professions and businesses shall be required to be licensed pursuant to the Funeral Services Licensing Act:

1. Any person engaged or who may engage in:

***

c. the sale of any funeral service merchandise, or

3 Art. 2, Sec. 2 provides:

All persons have the inherent right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry.

4 Theoretically, the Oklahoma public could obtain the same casket sold by Casket Company from telephone sales by out of state casket sellers or, sales via the Internet without either of these sellers being licensed by the State of Oklahoma. It is apparent to this Court that the State of Oklahoma may prohibit the importation into this state of contraband property. This certainly includes caskets which may not comply with construction requirements and fail to prevent contamination of the environment. Licensing is a proper method for enforcement of safety and health rules.