Appeal in St. Joseph Abbey caskets lawsuit will be heard Thursday

A panel of federal appellate judges in New Orleans will hear arguments Thursday morning in the appeal of a district court’s decision last summer to strike down the Louisiana law that permitted only licensed funeral directors to sell coffins. U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval’s ruling on July 21 that the state statute unfairly shielded a funeral industry monopoly to the detriment of consumers followed a lawsuit launched in August 2010 by the monks at St. Joseph Abbey near Covington.

The monks successfully sought the right to sell cypress caskets they make at their woodshop without paying the expensive fees and meeting the stringent requirements to obtain certification from the Louisiana Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. The abbey has said it counts on the casket sales to help finance medical and educational needs for more than 30 monks.

The state funeral board’s lawyers appealed Duval’s findings to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, and Appellate Judges Patrick Higginbotham, Catharina Haynes and Stephen A. Higginson are scheduled to preside over oral arguments about 8:45 a.m., instead of at 10:30 a.m., like first planned. Each side will have 25 minutes to argue the appeal.

Appeal in St. Joseph Abbey caskets lawsuit will be heard Thursday | NOLA.com.

https://battleofourtimes.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/louisiana-monks-go-to-court-to-sell-their-caskets/