Two Orange County residents are suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alleging that a Mission Hills cemetery has misused maintenance funds and left their family’s gravesites in ruins.

Jodi Howard and William Howard, whose relatives are buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, filed the class-action suit March 21 after they had difficulty finding the grave markers of their loved ones.

They allege breach of contract, negligence and fraud by concealment.

Along with what they claim is the generally poor state of the cemetery grounds, the plaintiffs said grave markers were either missing, damaged or covered in overgrown weeds during their repeated visits.

Both of William Howard’s parents and his brother are buried at the site, as are the sister, the maternal grandfather and one great-grandparent of Jodi Howard. Jodi is William’s daughter-in-law.

Jeffrey Spencer, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the poor state of the site is not relegated to one area, as the Howards’ relatives are buried in various locations.

Full story at The LA Times.