Family sues two funeral homes for $60 million after one sent WRONG body, then another buried deceased stranger next to their grandmother

• Clifford Zaner, 72, died in February and his family had him interred alongside his late mother in New York after he passed away in South Carolina
• It wasn’t until eleven days after the funeral that the family was informed that their father remained inside a morgue in South Carolina 
• His family are now suing the two funeral homes responsible for damages totaling just over $60 million 

A family is to sue two funeral homes for $60 million after they had a funeral for their father but the wrong body was buried in his place. 

Clifford Zaner died in February of this year and his two daughters Stacy Holzman and Megan Zaner made arrangements to have him buried beside his late mother. 

Prior to his death he told his family he wished to be buried in black jeans and his beloved Led Zeppelin t shirt. 

Originally from New York, Zaner passed in South Carolina, and the family hired two funeral homes to have his body safely transported between the two states. 

But to the family’s horror, another corpse ended up inside their late father’s coffin, wearing his desired clothes, and buried beside their late grandmother.

Zaner, pictured here in his beloved Led Zeppelin t shirt, died in a South Carolina hospital after a battle with acute respiratory distress syndrome and heart failure

A spokesperson for Star of David, pictured here, said they are reviewing all of their protocols following the mishap

​Fletcher Funeral & Cremation Service in South Carolina, pictured here, transported the wrong body to New York according to the suit

The Star of David Memorial Chapel based in West Babylon, New York, had been enlisted to bury Zaner while Fletcher Funeral and Cremation Service, in South Carolina, had to transport his body to New York. 

Zaner passed away in a local hospital in South Carolina after a battle with acute respiratory distress syndrome and heart failure.

He had moved to the state after he retired last year to live with Holzman and his grandson. 

In a $60 million lawsuit filed on Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court, Fletcher are said to have transported the wrong corpse to New York. 

Following this, the suit says that workers at the Star of David home then took possession of the unknown body believing it to be Zaner. 

They then prepared the body for a traditional Jewish burial as per the agreement they had with the family members. 

On arriving at the home to view the corpse, Holzman alerted staff that she didn’t believe the body to be that of her father’s.

Holzman told the Daily Beast: ‘There were red flags when we viewed the body, huge red flags. The first thing I noticed when they opened the casket was no mustache.

‘The first thing I saw was just a bare upper lip, and I couldn’t stop focusing on that.

‘And then the next thing that I saw was that there was an autopsy scar going all the way across the forehead. 

‘He wasn’t supposed to have an autopsy. I was with him when he passed, so to see a body with an autopsy scar freaked me out.It looked like the stitches on a baseball. 

‘I haven’t slept much since that day. Every time I close my eyes, that’s what I see.’ 

The family of Zaner are now seeking $60 million from the funeral homes involved in the burial process

According to his daughter, Zaner had been known for his large mustache, but after viewing the corpse in New York she noticed it was missing the facial hair

Holzman said her father had been known for his large ‘Burt Reynolds-style mustache’, something which she even referenced in his eulogy. 

According to Holzman, the funeral director of the home convinced her that everything was as it should be and said that it was standard practice for a body to be shaven.

Holzman said that the funeral director then left the room and continued preparing for the funeral service as if nothing was wrong.

On March the 2nd, four days after Zaner passed, the wrong body was interred wearing his outfit of choice and in his mother’s burial plot.

The lawsuit states that the funeral home in South Carolina left his actual body unattended on their premises ‘without dignity and respect’.

It wasn’t until March 13 that the Fletcher funeral home informed the two sisters of their error and that they had buried the wrong body. 

Holzman immediately identified the remains as her fathers and had to arrange another funeral for him, this time in Jacksonville, Florida. 

According to Holzman, pictured here, the funeral director of the home convinced her that everything was as it should be

Zaner was then buried in another family plot, but without his beloved Led Zeppelin t-shirt on. 

Holzman said: ‘At that point, we needed to get him buried, and get his body blessed and cleansed, and make sure that things were done right the second time.

‘My uncle had talked to Star of David, who said they would be refunding me for the cost of the funeral.

‘But they never refunded the money, so I still had to go out-of-pocket for the second one.’

Holzman claims she spent nearly $30,000 for the two burials. 

She said: ‘My last memory of my father was that I didn’t recognize him. They told me it was him, and it wasn’t. 

‘It’s so traumatizing to think the last time I saw my dad, I didn’t know who it was.’

All in, the family of Zaner are seeking an amount totaling just over $60 million for injuries and damages. 

According to the suit this includes ‘great mental pain, severe anguish, distress of mind, nervous shock, and the impairment of peace and happiness’.

It wasn’t until eleven days after the funeral that the family was informed that their father remained inside a morgue in South Carolina

A spokesperson for Star of David told DailyMail.com: ‘We deeply regret any sorrow experienced by the family for the mistake made by the funeral home in South Carolina. 

‘After the family confirmed the identification of the deceased at the cemetery, the burial proceeded. 

‘When the funeral home in South Carolina notified us of their mistake, we took swift and decisive action to contact the family and offer whatever services needed to lessen their grief.

‘Families are under a great deal of stress when they identify their deceased. 

‘We are reviewing all our protocols and will make any recommended changes to ensure the correct identification of family members. 

‘We are committed to continuing to provide the highest level of compassion and care to families who have entrusted us with their loved ones.’

DailyMail.com has also contacted Fletcher Funeral & Cremation Service for comment on the matter.  

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