(a) If for any reason a cemetery company that has entered into a contract for the sale of cemetery merchandise or services and has made the deposit into the trust funds as required in this part, cannot or does not provide the cemetery merchandise or perform the services called for by the contract within a reasonable time upon request, the purchaser, or the purchaser’s heirs or assigns, or duly authorized representatives, shall have the right to provide the cemetery merchandise or services; and, having done so, shall be entitled to receive the deposit to the credit of that particular contract. Written instructions to the trustee by the cemetery company directing the trustee to refund the amount of money on deposit, or an affidavit by either the purchaser, or one (1) of the purchaser’s heirs or assigns, or duly authorized representative, stating that the cemetery merchandise or services were not provided, shall be sufficient authority for the trustee to make refund of the funds on deposit to the person submitting the affidavit. However, nothing in this subsection (a) shall relieve the cemetery company from any liability for nonperformance of the contract.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-209

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Cemetery: means any land or structure in this state dedicated to and used, or intended to be used, for interment of human remains. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery company: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association, now or hereafter organized, owning or controlling cemetery lands or property and conducting the business of a cemetery. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery merchandise: means personal property sold by a cemetery company, such as foundations, markers, memorials, memorial bases, monuments, urns, vases, and lawn and mausoleum crypts. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Services: means acts performed by a cemetery company on its premises in the final interment of human remains or the installation of cemetery merchandise used in connection with final interment. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) If the purchaser is in default on making payments under the sales contract for a period of ninety (90) consecutive days, the cemetery company shall have the right to cancel the contract and to withdraw from the trust fund the entire balance to the credit of the defaulting purchaser’s account as liquidated damages. In that event, the trustee shall deliver the balance to the cemetery company upon its certification of the default by the purchaser; and upon receiving the certification, the trustee may rely on the certification and shall not be liable to anyone for such reliance.
(c) In the event the purchaser, or the purchaser’s heirs or assigns, or authorized representatives, desire to substitute cemetery merchandise or services different from that which is specified in the sales contract because of changed conditions or practices in burial customs, the cemetery company shall give credit to the extent of all moneys already paid toward the payment of the substituted cemetery merchandise or services; provided, that the original sales contract has not been completed.
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