Legacy Touch Deceased Fingerprint Lawsuit Investigation

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether lawsuits can be filed against Legacy Touch in light of reports that the company may have partnered with funeral homes to collect the fingerprints of deceased individuals without permission.

Specifically, family members have reported being contacted by Legacy Touch shortly after their loved ones died with offers to buy personalized jewelry and keepsakes featuring the deceased individuals’ fingerprints. In some cases, the people contacted by the company were surprised and distressed to learn that their loved one’s fingerprints had been taken and shared given they never provided permission to either the funeral home or Legacy Touch to do so.

The attorneys are now looking to represent individuals who want to individually sue Legacy Touch and the funeral home that handled their loved one’s services. In these cases, a person may be able to recover money for injuries such as mental anguish, emotional distress, and loss of privacy.

Grieving Families Claim Legacy Touch, Funeral Homes Violated Their Privacy

Last year, a Florida resident told a local news outlet that he received an email from Legacy Touch a few weeks after his mother’s death with an offer to buy a pendant with her fingerprint on it. After following up with the funeral home that provided the services, the man learned that his mother’s fingerprint had been collected as part of the business’s “normal practice,” the article reported.

The deceased woman was “very protective of her identity when she was alive,” according to her son, and her family said they never signed off on her fingerprint being taken and shared with a third party.

In another case, a man and his mother were presented with a sales brochure advertising personalized keepsakes with their deceased father and husband’s fingerprint upon visiting a funeral home to pick up his ashes, according to a Boston Globe report. The man said he and his mother were not aware that his father’s fingerprint had been taken and felt it was “a serious violation of trust” that left them “increasingly offended and indignant.” According to the report, the family learned that the fingerprint was sent electronically to the funeral home’s jewelry vendor (not identified in the article), raising concerns about possible identity theft.

What’s Involved with Filing a Lawsuit?

If you are interested in filing a lawsuit against Legacy Touch and the funeral home that provided your loved one’s services, your attorney will first ask you some questions about your experience. You may also be asked to provide certain documentation, such as the contract you signed with the funeral home and a copy of the marketing materials you received from Legacy Touch.

After gathering information, your attorney will then file a complaint—the legal document filed with the court that officially begins your lawsuit. Your complaint will state the legal claims against the defendants—Legacy Touch and the funeral home—and how their alleged conduct affected you and your family.

As your case proceeds, your attorneys and the attorneys for the defendants will engage with each other and the court, which could include filing motions and briefs, collecting information (which is called discovery) and attending hearings. If your case is not settled or dismissed, it will proceed to a jury trial—but trials have become increasingly rare in civil cases.

Is This a Class Action Lawsuit?

No, the attorneys working with ClassAction.org are not handling this matter on a class action basis because they will be seeking damages for significant emotional suffering and other injuries based on each person’s individual experience. Class action lawsuits are usually filed on behalf of a group of people who experienced similar harm and suffered relatively minor losses—i.e., not enough to warrant individual cases.

If you’re interested in filing a lawsuit over your experience with Legacy Touch, you’ll need to hire your own attorney and your case will be filed individually.

How Much Will Filing a Lawsuit Cost Me?

The attorneys are handling these lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, meaning they will only get paid if they win money on your behalf. If they don’t win, you don’t pay. If your case is successful, the attorneys’ payment will come as a percentage of the amount you’re awarded.

What Could I Get from a Lawsuit?

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