UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ROBERT L. D'ANJOLELL MEMORIAL HOME, P.C., a corporation, Civil Action No. CONSENT DECREE WHEREAS: Plaintiff, the United States of America, has commenced this action by filing the Complaint herein; defendants have waived service of the Summons and Complaint; the parties have been represented by the attorneys whose names appear hereafter; and the parties have agreed to settlement of this action upon the following terms and conditions, without adjudication of any issue of fact or law and without defendants admitting liability for any of the matters charged in the Complaint; THEREFORE, on the joint motion of the plaintiff and defendants, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED as follows: 1. This Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties. 2. The Complaint states a claim upon which relief may be granted against the defendants under Sections 5(a)(1), 5(m)(1)(A), 9, 13(b), and 16(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 45(a)(1), 45(m)(1)(A), 49, 53(b), and 56(a). CIVIL PENALTY 3. Defendants, Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home P.C., Robert L. D'Anjolell, Sr., Anthony Romano, and Robert L. D'Anjolell, Jr., and their successors and assigns, shall pay to plaintiff a civil penalty, pursuant to Section 5(m)(1)(A) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A), in the amount of Eleven-Thousand-Dollars ($11,000). Defendants are jointly and severally responsible for paying the penalty. 4. Defendants shall make the payment required by Paragraph 3 within five (5) days of the date of entry of this Consent Decree by certified or cashier's check made payable to the Treasurer of the United States and delivered to: The Office of Consumer Litigation, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, for appropriate disposition. 5. In the event of any default in payment, which default continues for ten (10) days beyond the due date of payment, the entire unpaid penalty, together with interest, as computed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1961 from the date of default to the date of payment, shall immediately become due and payable. INJUNCTION 6. Defendants, their successors and assigns, and their officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with any one or more of them who receive actual notice of this Consent Decree by personal service or otherwise, are hereby enjoined from ever violating, directly or through any corporation, subsidiary, division or other device, any provision of the Federal Trade Commission's Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Funeral Industry Practices (the "Funeral Rule" or "Rule"), 16 C.F.R. Part 453, or as the Rule may hereafter be amended. A copy of this Rule is attached hereto as "Appendix A" and incorporated herein as if fully set forth verbatim. PERSONS AFFECTED; CONTINUING JURISDICTION 7. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall, within thirty (30) days of the entry of this Consent Decree, provide a copy of this Consent Decree and the Funeral Rule to each of their employees, officers, agents, servants, and attorneys, secure from each such person a signed statement acknowledging receipt of a copy of this Consent Decree, and shall, within ten (10) days of complying with this paragraph, submit to the Regional Director, Cleveland Regional Office, Federal Trade Commission, 1111 Superior Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, a signed statement setting forth the fact and manner of defendants' compliance, including the name and title of each person to whom a copy of the Consent Decree has been provided. 8. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall, for a period of ten (10) years from the date of entry of this Consent Decree, provide a copy of this Consent Decree and the Funeral Rule to each of their future employees, officers, agents, servants, and attorneys, within ten (10) days of such person's employment by or association with defendants or their successors or assigns, and shall secure from each such person a signed statement acknowledging receipt of a copy of this Consent Decree. For ten (10) years from the date of entry of this Consent Decree, defendants shall maintain copies of the signed statements, as well as other information regarding the fact and manner of their compliance, including the name and title of each person to whom a copy of the Consent Decree has been provided. 9. For a period of five (5) years from the date of entry of this Consent Decree, defendants, their successors and assigns, shall maintain and make available to the Federal Trade Commission, within seven (7) days of the date of receipt of a written request, business records demonstrating compliance with the terms and provisions of this Consent Decree. 10. Defendants, their successors and assigns, shall notify the Regional Director, Cleveland Regional Office, Federal Trade Commission, 1111 Superior Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, at least thirty (30) days prior to any change in the business of defendant Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home P.C., including, but not limited to, any merger, incorporation, dissolution, assignment, sale which results in the emergence of a successor corporation, the creation or dissolution of a subsidiary or parent, or any other change which may affect this defendant's obligations under this judgment. 11. Defendants Robert L. D'Anjolell Sr., Anthony Romano, and Robert L. D'Anjolell Jr., shall, for a period of ten (10) years from the date of entry of this Consent Decree, notify the Regional Director, Cleveland Regional Office, Federal Trade Commission, 1111 Superior Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, within thirty (30) days of each affiliation with a new business or employment whose activities include the sale or offering for sale of funeral goods and funeral services, or of their affiliation with a new business or employment in which their own duties and responsibilities involve the sale or offering for sale of funeral goods and funeral services. 12. This action, and the relief awarded herein, is in addition to and not in lieu of other remedies as may be provided by law, including both civil and criminal remedies. 13. This Court shall retain jurisdiction of this matter for the purposes of enabling any of the parties to this Consent Decree to apply to the Court at any time for such further orders or directives as may be necessary or appropriate for the interpretation or modification of this Consent Decree, for the enforcement of compliance therewith, or for the punishment of violations thereof. JUDGMENT IS THEREFORE ENTERED in favor of plaintiff and against defendants, pursuant to all the terms and conditions recited above. Dated this ______ day of _________________, 19___. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE The parties, by their respective counsel, hereby consent to the terms and conditions of the Consent Decree as set forth above and consent to the entry thereof. Defendants waive any rights that may arise under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412. FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: DAVID W. OGDEN MICHAEL R. STILES Assistant United States Attorney EUGENE M. THIROLF ELIZABETH STEIN, Attorney FOR THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: LAUREL PRICE DANA C. BARRAGATE FOR THE DEFENDANTS: ROBERT L. D'ANJOLELL MEMORIAL HOME P.C. ROBERT L. D'ANJOLELL, SR. ANTHONY ROMANO ROBERT L. D'ANJOLELL, JR. RYAN, EMORY & RYAN, LLP JOSEPH P. RYAN, ESQ. CERTIFICATE I, Robert L. D'Anjolell, Sr., the undersigned President of Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home P.C., a Pennsylvania corporation, do hereby certify that a meeting of the Board of Directors of said corporation was duly held on the ______ day of _______________, 19___, a quorum being present, and that the following resolution was adopted, and is now in full force and effect, to wit:
IN WITESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the seal of the corporation on this _______ day of ___________________, 19___. President REASONS FOR SETTLEMENT This statement accompanies the Consent Decree executed by the defendants Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home P.C., and its principals, Robert L. D'Anjolell, Sr., Anthony Romano, and Robert L. D'Anjolell, Jr., in settlement of an action brought to recover penalties and injunctive and other relief from defendants for engaging in acts or practices in violation of the Commission's Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Funeral Industry Practices ("the Funeral Rule"), 16 C.F.R. Part 453. Pursuant to Section 5(m)(3) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(3), the Commission hereby sets forth its reasons for settlement by entry of a Consent Decree: On the basis of the allegations contained in the attached Complaint, the Commission believes that the payment of Eleven-Thousand-Dollars ($11,000) in civil penalties by the defendants constitutes an appropriate amount upon which to base a settlement. This amount should assure compliance with the law by the defendants and others who may be in violation of the Funeral Rule. Further, defendants are permanently enjoined from engaging in acts or practices that are prohibited by the Funeral Rule. With the entry of this Consent Decree, the time and expense of litigation will be avoided. For the foregoing reasons, the Commission believes that the settlement by entry of the attached Consent Decree with Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home P.C., Robert L. D'Anjolell, Sr., Anthony Romano, and Robert L. D'Anjolell , Jr., is justified and within the public interest. |