Oklahoma couple challenges casket law after state hands them $4,000 fine

OKLAHOMA CITY – A district judge on Thursday ruled an Oklahoma couple can challenge the constitutionality of a state law that only lets funeral directors sell caskets.

The state had sought to dismiss the case, but Oklahoma County District Judge Don Andrews denied the motion.

Candice Mentink and Todd Collard, who own a business in Calvin, sued the Oklahoma Funeral Board to overturn a state law, which they said prevents them from selling their specialty caskets.

Their lawsuit alleges the state Funeral Board fined the Hughes County business owners $4,000 after they displayed their caskets for sale at the Tulsa Fair in 2021.

Their business, Caskets of Honor, sells caskets wrapped in personalized designs similar to businesses that use wrapping on vehicles.

The caskets are wrapped in religious imagery, hunting or fishing themes, sports colors, family pictures and commemorations of military service.

The married couple said they can ship the caskets to customers in almost every state except Oklahoma.

They’re challenging a state law that forbids them from selling directly to Oklahoma customers. Existing state law that limits that ability to funeral directors.

In order to become a funeral director in Oklahoma, people must complete a two-year program in mortuary science, spend a year as an apprentice under a funeral director and pass two exams on funeral services, the suit said. 

Directors must work in a licensed funeral establishment that offers the full range of facilities and equipment, the suit said.

The couple does not want to become funeral directors or offer funeral services, according to the lawsuit.

The state requirements have no substantial relationship to public health, safety or welfare and do not advance a legitimate government interest, the suit alleges, adding that the state doesn’t regulate caskets.

The law, named the Funeral Services Licensing Act, gives exclusive economic privileges to members of the funeral industry and imposes unreasonable burdens on the couple, according to their lawsuit filed in February.

“Caskets of Honor strives to keep its caskets affordable and avoid the substantial markups that funeral homes regularly place on caskets,” the suit said.

They are asking that the law not be enforced and be found unconstitutional after efforts to eliminate the requirement failed in the Oklahoma Legislature.

The state, represented by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, said the law was necessary to protect consumers and the intrastate funeral industry.

Funeral establishments must maintain an inventory of at least five caskets and ensure that bereaved consumers are presented with options without subjecting them to high-pressure sales environments that don’t offer reasonable alternatives, the state argued. 

Funeral establishments must also provide a printed price list for merchandise.

The law protects bereaved consumers making a time-of-need purchase, the state argued.

Advertising an illegal activity is not protected speech, the state argued.

Mentink and Collard said they were pleased the case could move forward.