The grandson of the man who started the Poca-based Gatens-Harding Funeral Home is suing the current owner who has been accused of racketeering related to the sale of more than 100 pre-need funeral arrangements.
J. Michael Gatens III claims in a lawsuit filed last month in Putnam County Circuit Court that Chad Harding owes him $113,000 plus interest and never provided him the deed to a property in Winfield that was to be used as collateral.
Now that deed might be tied up in federal court, where Harding and his wife, Billie, are being sued by an Iowa-based insurance company, Homesteaders Life Co.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Robert Chambers in January granted a pre-judgment motion filed by attorneys for Homesteaders and put an attachment on the property which would allow the insurance company to sell it if the company wins the lawsuit.
"Upon information and belief, the deed to the property described in the Promissory Note is subject to an Order of prejudgment attachment in Homesteaders Life Company v. Gatens-Harding Funeral Home," Bowles Rice attorney Josh Johnson wrote in Gatens' complaint.
On Thursday, Johnson said he couldn't go into detail about certain allegations at this early stage in the case. He didn't know the relationship between the two men and wouldn't say what the debt was over.
Gatens lives in Alberta, Canada, the lawsuit states. He is the grandson of Joseph Sr. and Norma Lee Gatens, who started the Gatens Funeral Home in 1940, according to the funeral home's website. The Hardings became the sole owners of the funeral home in 2004.
Hurricane attorney Jeff Woods, who represents the Hardings, couldn't be reached Thursday. He has not yet filed an answer to the complaint.
Gatens and Harding entered into an agreement in May 2014, the lawsuit states. A copy of a promissory note with both men's signatures is attached to the complaint.
"Mr. Harding falsely and fraudulently represented to Mr. Gatens that he would provide Mr. Gatens with a deed to secure the debt," the complaint states. "When Mr. Harding made these representations, he knew them to be false and these representations were made by Mr. Harding with the intent to defraud and deceive Mr. Gatens and with the intent to induce Mr. Gatens to provide the aforementioned sum."
In its lawsuit filed last August, Homesteaders claims that the Hardings cashed in on 111 pre-need funeral arrangement contracts valued at more than $900,000 before the individual in the contract died.
"We didn't want [Harding] to dissipate or dispose of any of his assets before we could have a jury hear the case. We thought the extraordinary action of getting a prejudgment attachment would prohibit him from doing that," said Alex Macia an attorney for the insurance company. "We believe we have a very strong case of fraud and we wanted to make sure there was something there to satisfy the judgment we would obtain against [Harding]."
In September, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit against Gatens-Harding in Kanawha County Circuit Court alleging an audit had determined at least 108 West Virginians had been affected by a scheme similar to that outlined in the lawsuit filed in federal court. The Hardings have denied all of the allegations.
Pre-need funeral arrangements are sold by funeral homes as part of group life insurance plans, which are designed to fund the funeral services for those enrolled. In the event of death, the insurance company distributes money to the funeral home to cover the costs of services and arrangements.
Reach Kate White at
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