news-record.com

GRAHAM -- The N.C. Board of Funeral Service decided to uphold an administrative law judge's recommendation to revoke a Burlington funeral home director's license.

The board voted on the matter Dec. 14 and an order was prepared, but it hasn't been officially served on David B. Lawson, owner of David B. Lawson Mortuary at 2008 W. Harden St.

"The board president hasn't signed the board's order yet, but it's the effective the moment they issue the ruling," said Paul Harris, executive director of the Board of Funeral Service, on Friday.

Once he is served the order, Lawson, who attended the meeting in Raleigh last week and was represented by attorney Maria Singleton of Durham, will have 30 days to appeal.

Six of the nine-member board made the decision. Two members who serve on the disciplinary committee and had previously heard all the evidence didn't vote. One member, Ken Stainback of McClure Funeral Service in Graham, recused himself because he operates a funeral home in Alamance County, Harris said.

Lawson's case was originally heard by Judge Don Overby Oct. 26 at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Raleigh because the Board of Funeral Service wanted to ensure there wasn't any bias. After evidence was presented, Overby issued a summary suspension against Lawson. He also recommended that the board revoke Lawson's license as well as the establishment license he holds for the mortuary.

Overby made the recommendation because Lawson entered into pre-need funeral contracts with several clients, even though he had voluntarily surrendered his pre-need license in June 2007.

The matter was originally brought before the Board of Funeral Service after Lawson left 37-year-old Linda Walton's body in the back of his hearse in August 2010 while he waited for Orange County's Department of Social Services to provide the documents he needed to have Walton's body cremated.

At the time, Lawson's business was at 115 E. Harden St. and Graham police was called to the back parking lot of the mortuary after someone reported that a foul smell was coming from the back of the hearse.

Following the police investigation, the Board of Funeral Service was called and the case received a lot of media attention. That's when several clients who thought they had made legal pre-need contracts with Lawson started asking for their money back. Lawson allegedly wasn't quick to comply with their requests. The Board of Funeral Service started receiving complaints against Lawson.

Overby said that leaving the body in the back of the hearse wasn't a good thing to do, but he felt like Lawson had run out of options because he couldn't find any place to store the decomposing body.

Since Lawson's license was suspended in October, the Board of Funeral Service has received another complaint from a client who said she entered into a pre-need contract with Lawson in April 2010. The board has a pre-need recovery fund, and she could potentially apply to get her money back.