HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Service Corporation
International (NYSE: SRV), the world's largest funeral and cemetery company,
today announced it has entered into an agreement in principle to settle the
class action lawsuit and all individual related lawsuits pending against the
Company involving Florida's Menorah Gardens and Funeral Chapels (Florida
litigation), with the exception of one lawsuit pending in Palm Beach County,
Florida styled: Sol Guralnick, et. al. vs. SCI Funeral Services of Florida,
Inc., et. al. All claims under the Florida litigation would be dismissed
following final court approval of the settlement.
Commenting on the Company's Florida litigation settlement, SCI Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, R. L. Waltrip, said: "We are pleased to have
this matter resolved so that we can devote more of our attention and resources
to serving our client families and focusing on achieving our strategic
objectives."
The terms of the proposed settlement call for the Company to make payments
totaling approximately $100 million in settlement of these claims. The
Company has substantial face amount of insurance coverage related to such
claims, although there are various unresolved insurance coverage disputes.
As of September 30, 2003, the Company had recognized reserves of
approximately $23 million relating to the Florida litigation. As a result of
this settlement, the Company expects to recognize additional litigation
related expenses of approximately $77 million on a pretax basis in the fourth
quarter of 2003. Due to the unresolved insurance coverage disputes, the
Company will not recognize an estimated receivable for insurance recoveries at
this present time.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections
provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements may be accompanied by words such as "believe," "estimate,"
"project," "expect," "anticipate" or "predict," that convey the uncertainty of
future events or outcomes. These statements are based on assumptions that the
Company believes are reasonable; however, many important factors could cause
the Company's actual results in the future to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements made herein and in any other documents or oral
presentations made by, or on behalf of, the Company. Important factors which
could cause actual results of the Company to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, among others, the Company's ability to
consummate the settlement as described in the agreement in principle, the
Company's ability to recover amounts under insurance policies and the outcomes
of pending lawsuits against the Company involving alleged violations of
securities laws as described in the Company's previous filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see
the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the
Company's 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company assumes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any
other forward-looking statements made by the Company, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
As of September 30, 2003, the Company and its affiliates operated 2,236
funeral service locations, 429 cemeteries and 190 crematoria in 8 countries.
For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit our
website at http://www.sci-corp.com.
For additional information contact:
Investors: Debbie E. Young - Director of Investor Relations
(713) 525-9088
Media: Terry Hemeyer - Managing Director / Corporate Communications
(713) 525-5497
SOURCE Service Corporation International
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Related links:
http://www.sci-corp.com
CONTACT:
Investors - Debbie E. Young, Director of
Investor Relations, +1-713-525-9088, or Media - Terry Hemeyer,
Managing Director\Corporate Communications, +1-713-525-5497, both
of Service Corporation International
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