The Funeral Rule is designed to ensure that consumers purchase only the goods and services they want or need. The rule was promulgated by the Commission in 1984 and revised in 1994. It requires funeral homes to give consumers who visit a funeral home a copy of an itemized general price list so they can use it to comparison shop. The rule also makes clear that consumers do not have to buy a package deal. It requires funeral homes to provide consumers itemized lists of the goods and services they have selected, so that they can be sure they are paying only for the items chosen or that state law requires.
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Marketing Masters sells caskets, outer burial containers, urns and memorials, and several cremation services. According to the complaint, the defendants violated the Funeral Rule by failing to give consumers a general price list containing all of the prices and disclosures required by the rule, and by failing to give consumers, in conjunction with the price of outer burial containers, a written disclosure about the legal and practical requirements of purchasing an outer burial container. In addition, the defendants are required to give each employee who sells funeral goods and services a copy of the consent decree and, for a period of five years, to maintain records showing compliance with the terms of the settlement. Also, for five years, defendants Donald Morris and David Heisterkamp must notify the FTC about their affiliation with any new business or employment in which their duties and responsibilities involve the sale of funeral goods and services. The FTC vote to authorize filing of the proposed complaint and consent decree was 5-0.