On Oct. 18, 2016, plaintiffs Mirna Amaya and Jorge Hernandez learned that the body of their son was prematurely cremated at a crematory contracted by the county of Los Angeles. Amaya and Hernandez’s son had the same first and last name as another body that was to be cremated that day, but the two bodies had different case numbers. The body of Amaya and Hernandez’s son was mistakenly released to the mortuary and subsequently cremated. Amaya and Hernandez sued the county of Los Angeles and the county department that had the son’s body, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Amaya and Hernandez alleged that the defendants’ employees were not properly trained and/or did not follow the proper procedures to verify the body prior to its release. The county filed third-party complaints against the crematory contractor, Community Crematory of Whittier Inc., and the crematory’s insurer, Ohio Security Insurance Co., Amaya and Hernandez claimed that they suffer emotional distress as a result of their son’s body being cremated prematurely, as they were not able to prepare for the cremation. Amaya and Hernandez sought recovery of damages for their emotional pain and suffering.