A Myrtle Beach woman has filed a lawsuit against a Horry County funeral home after she says she and her family arrived for her mother's open-casket viewing and found a stranger lying inside, dressed in her mother's clothes. Iris Gordon's mother, 87-year-old Iris Walker-Evans, died on Jan. 14, 2026, and the family had scheduled a viewing for Jan. 30 ahead of church services and burial.
According to the lawsuit, Gordon met with an owner of Ocean View Funeral Home to arrange the service and paid $13,820.55 for a full funeral package, as reported by WBTV. She says she also handed over her mother's black and gold African attire, a matching scarf, a hat, a wig and undergarments so Walker-Evans could be dressed for the viewing. Court filings reviewed by the Post and Courier indicate the family had planned the viewing at the funeral home's Conway chapel before services at True Worship United Pentecostal Church and burial at Westside Memorial Gardens.
When the 3 p.m. viewing began on Jan. 30, Gordon and her relatives instead found an unknown person inside the casket wearing her mother's clothing, the lawsuit alleges. Per the same court filings, the funeral home owner acknowledged the mistake over the phone and rescheduled the viewing for 5 p.m., at which point Walker-Evans was correctly presented to the family.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
Gordon's complaint alleges breach of contract, claiming the mix-up corrupted the casket she had purchased along with the personal clothing she provided for her mother's viewing. She also claims the ordeal caused emotional distress, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and a loss of the ability to sleep soundly. The lawsuit seeks a refund of the funeral costs along with additional damages.
Ocean View Funeral Home and Beach Crematory, which is owned by Atu and Tammy Williams, operates three locations in Horry County: Myrtle Beach, Conway and Little River, according to the funeral home's website. The business had not responded to a request for comment from WMBF as of the afternoon of Oct. 7, per that station's reporting, which also reported that Gordon filed the lawsuit on Oct. 6.
A High Legal Bar for Emotional Distress Claims
South Carolina courts apply a demanding standard to claims like the one in Gordon's suit. Under the 1981 state Supreme Court case Ford v. Hutson, plaintiffs alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress must show that a defendant's conduct was extreme and outrageous beyond all bounds of decency and caused severe mental anguish, according to Traction Law Group. Consumers who suffer financial loss tied to deceptive or unfair business practices may also pursue claims under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, which allows for actual damages, mandatory treble damages, and attorney fees in cases of intentional misconduct, the firm notes.
Separately, licensed funeral directors and embalmers in South Carolina are regulated by the State Board of Funeral Service under state code governing professional misconduct, according to the South Carolina State Legislature. State lawmakers updated funeral statutes in 2024 to strengthen inspector requirements and enforcement oversight. It remains unresolved whether the board will open an administrative inquiry into the incident involving Gordon's mother, or whether Ocean View will file a formal response in court.
Costs and Context Statewide
Costs and Context Statewide A full-service burial in South Carolina averaged roughly $8,270 in 2026, according to data compiled by Memorial Merits. South Carolina also updated its funeral statutes in 2024.
Casket and identification mix-ups have also surfaced elsewhere in the country. In September, a Detroit family said they arrived for a viewing to find a stranger dressed in their relative's clothes inside a casket after a funeral home mistakenly cremated her before the service.
