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Meridian, Miss.—Magnolia Cemetery and Meridian Memorial Park in Meridian, Mississippi, are under new ownership.
The announcement comes little more than one year after Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann filed civil action in Lauderdale County Chancery Court seeking to place both cemeteries under receivership. New owner and buyer Perpetuation, LLC, and seller William E. Arlinghaus closed on the deal today. Jay Lowry Crane, owner of Perpetuation, LLC, has strong ties to Meridian and Lauderdale County.
“Understandably, this has been a stressful situation for the many people who have loved ones buried in Magnolia Cemetery and Meridian Memorial Park,” Secretary Hosemann said. “The State is hopeful these sacred places are now in hands which will properly honor the memories of the Mississippians who lay to rest there.”
The State filed suit seeking receivership in June 2016 after Arlinghaus’s failure to pay into a required trust a percentage of customer payments for ground burial and mausoleum sales, as required by statute. Since 2016, the properties have become overgrown and blighted. The Secretary of State’s Office has no authority related to beautification and maintenance of cemeteries generally; the Agency’s authority is limited to regulating the solvency of consumer trusts and the purchases of cemetery goods and services.
In August 2016, a chancery judge granted Secretary Hosemann’s motion for preliminary injunction, restricting Arlinghaus’s operations and requiring him to report weekly collections for at-need sales and services to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Key terms, approved by the Secretary of State’s Office, of the sale agreement finalized today include:
· An earmark of $36,910.37 for memorial markers that were never provided to 28 consumers who paid for grave markers for their loved one, which will be provided by the new ownership. An additional amount of $15,000 has been set aside for future unknown claims that could exist for undelivered goods and services.
· A total of $33,349.83, which Arlinghaus failed to remit to the perpetual care trust from collections on the sale of graves, will be funded to the proper accounts.
· Six judgments, secured creditors, and tax liens were paid to ensure clear title was conveyed to the new owner. An additional three judgments were paid through garnishment proceedings in the weeks prior to the closing.
· Dismissal of the lawsuit by the State against Arlinghaus contingent on a lifetime ban from Arlinghaus’s management or ownership interest in a cemetery or funeral service business in the State of Mississippi.
The State will work with the Crane and Perpetuation, LLC, in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. The many maintenance problems on the properties cannot be resolved at once, but Crane has assured the State he will work toward remedying all issues.
