(1) No person authorized to sell grave space may tie the purchase of any grave space to the purchase of a monument from or through the seller of any other designated person or corporation.
(2)(a) Noncemetery licensed persons and firms shall have the right to sell monuments and to perform or provide on cemetery property foundation, preparation, and installation services for monuments. However, a cemetery company or any other entity owning and operating a cemetery may establish reasonable rules regarding the style and size of a monument or its foundation, provided such rules are applicable to all monuments from whatever source obtained and are enforced uniformly as to all monuments. Such rules shall be conspicuously posted and readily accessible to inspection and copy by interested persons.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 497.280

  • Cemetery: means a place dedicated to and used or intended to be used for the permanent interment of human remains or cremated remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • Cemetery company: means any legal entity that owns or controls cemetery lands or property. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Grave space: means a space of ground in a cemetery intended to be used for the interment in the ground of human remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • merchandise: means any personal property offered or sold by any person for use in connection with the final disposition, memorialization, interment, entombment, or inurnment of human remains or cremated remains, including, but not limited to, caskets, outer burial containers, alternative containers, cremation containers, cremation interment containers, urns, monuments, private mausoleums, flowers, benches, vases, acknowledgment cards, register books, memory folders, prayer cards, and clothing. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • Monument: means any product used for identifying a grave site and cemetery memorials of all types, including monuments, markers, and vases. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • Person: when used without qualification such as "natural" or "individual" includes both natural persons and legal entities. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • Rules: refers to rules adopted under this chapter unless expressly indicated to the contrary. See Florida Statutes 497.005
  • service: means any service offered or provided in connection with the final disposition, memorialization, interment, entombment, or inurnment of human remains or cremated remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
(b) No person who is authorized to sell grave space and no cemetery company or other entity owning and operating a cemetery may:

1. Require the payment of a setting or service charge, by whatever name known, from third party installers for the placement of a monument;
2. Refuse to provide care or maintenance for any portion of a gravesite on which a monument has been placed; or
3. Require waiver of liability with respect to damage caused by cemetery employees or agents to a monument after installation,

where the monument or installation service is not purchased from the person authorized to sell grave space or the cemetery company providing grave space or from or through any other person or corporation designated by the person authorized to sell grave space or the cemetery company providing grave space. No cemetery company may be held liable for the improper installation of a monument where the monument is not installed by the cemetery company or its agents.

(3) No program offering free burial rights may be conditioned by any requirement to purchase additional burial rights, funeral merchandise, or services. Any program offering free burial rights shall comply with s. 817.415.
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