Family of deceased man too big for casket sues

The family of a man who could hardly fit in his casket is suing the funeral home alleging that the funeral home made the family adjust the body.

According to the complaint, which is in the form of a letter dated in 2008 to the Funeral Ethics Association, Thomas Owens, the brother in law of the deceased, writes that directors of Gatlin Funeral Home watched as he and his two sons adjusted the body to get it to fit in the coffin. 

At one point, the police arrived but then left, the complaint states.  There was also a debate about the length of the coffin, which Owens maintains was 7 feet long and which the funeral director took a picture of him holding a tape measure. 

Owens asserts, among other things, that the funeral home was "upset" that the family purchased a less expensive casket from an outside source and is suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Read the complaint after the jump.

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