LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A third Las Vegas-area family has filed suit against McDermott’s Funeral & Cremation Services, the now-shuttered funeral home whose state license was revoked following inspections that documented bodies stored in unsanitary conditions and cremations delayed for months.
The lawsuit, filed July 20, 2026, in Clark County District Court, was brought by Alyssa Sandoval.
It is the latest in a series of legal actions against the funeral home, which also faces suits from the family of a Las Vegas toddler and from a family who says their loved one’s body decomposed to the point her fingerprints could not be identified.
Sandoval lawsuit: Father held more than a month past promised window
According to the Sandoval complaint, Avelino Sandoval, 49, died May 6, 2025, at Summerlin Hospital in Las Vegas.
His body was transported to McDermott’s the same day.
Alyssa Sandoval entered into a written contract with McDermott’s for direct cremation services.
The agreement stated Avelino’s remains would be cremated within seven to 28 business days.
The complaint states his remains were not processed until on or about June 13, 2025 — more than five weeks after his death.
The suit also alleges McDermott’s staff told Alyssa multiple times that cremation was in progress, which the complaint says was untrue.
When Alyssa received her father’s cremains, the lawsuit states, no identifying metal tag was included.
According to the complaint, such tags are standard industry practice — attached to a decedent’s limb before cremation and returned with the remains to confirm identity.
The absence of the tag, the suit alleges, left Alyssa uncertain whether the cremains she received were actually her father’s.
The complaint also states that Avelino’s body was stored in Cooler 3 at McDermott’s facility — the same cooler flagged during state inspections in July and August 2024, where investigators found bodies leaking blood and bodily fluids and wrapped in soiled sheets.
The Sandoval lawsuit alleges negligence, negligence per se, mishandling of a corpse, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and deceptive trade practices.
The complaint seeks general, special, and punitive damages each in excess of $15,000, along with attorney fees and costs.
Toddler’s family also suing
The Sandoval filing comes as the family of a toddler named Autumn is also pursuing legal action against McDermott’s. Autumn died in June 2024, just weeks after her first birthday.
Her mother, Alyssa Serna, said Autumn drowned.
The lawsuit claims McDermott’s held Autumn’s body for more than four months before cremating her, and that the family also did not receive an identifying metal tag with her remains.
“Losing anybody is hard, but losing your child is horrible,” Serna said. “I didn’t want to imagine her in a tiny coffin. I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted her home with me.”
Earlier lawsuit: family says loved one’s fingerprints were lost
A lawsuit filed in September 2025 brought similar allegations. Jose Gonzalez filed suit on behalf of Dora Gonzalez, who died July 17, 2025.
Her body was taken to McDermott’s, and the family said officials were adamant in recommending the funeral home’s services.
The paperwork provided stated cremation would take seven to 28 days.
The family said they were notified nearly a month later that Dora’s body had been removed from McDermott’s and transferred to Davis Funeral Homes, one of 146 bodies Clark County officials confirmed were taken from the facility.
When the family visited Dora at Davis Funeral Home, the lawsuit states her body had decomposed to the point where her fingerprints could not be identified.
Davis cremated Dora’s body on Sept. 1, 2025.
The Gonzalez family alleged McDermott’s failed to perform cremation services in a reasonable time and failed to store Dora’s body in sanitary conditions.
The suit sought $15,000 in damages.
State revoked McDermott’s license in 2025
The Nevada Funeral & Cemetery Services Board revoked McDermott’s license Aug. 15, 2025, citing cremations not completed in a timely manner.
A February 2024 inspection found eight bodies at the facility held for an extended period of time.
A follow-up inspection that summer found additional bodies that had still not been cremated. State records noted one body had been at the facility 252 days after death, and a baby’s body had been held for 54 days.
Inspectors also documented bodies stacked on shelves covered in soiled sheets, bodily fluids smeared on walls, and at least one body in an open cremation box without a lid.
Neighboring businesses had contacted authorities to report foul odors coming from the facility.
McDermott’s Funeral & Cremation Services is now closed.
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