Gossip has it that a dramatic showdown is unfolding within the clan of Eric Mays, the internet sensation and councilman from Flint, Michigan. The buzz is that his son has taken legal action against the funeral home currently holding his body. This move comes after Mays’ siblings gave the green light, but the son insists he’s the sole authority on his father’s final arrangements.
Talk about a family feud!
Following Eric Mays’ passing on February 24 due to natural causes, his relatives have been at odds over his remains. The attorney representing Mays’ son, suspects that his aunts and uncles are driven by financial gain they might secure from Mays’ demise.
Eric Deontaye Mays firmly stated that he alone holds the authority to decide the ultimate fate of his father’s remains. He emphasized that his father would not have approved of the current situation unfolding in this manner.
“It’s not me that’s the reason that this is happening,” Eric Deontaye Mays told WNEM5.
In an interview with WNEM5, Deontaye expressed his heartbreak over not being able to give his father the celebration of life he would want due to a new lawsuit he has filed in a legal battle with his aunts and uncles over his father’s body. Deontaye said his relatives committed fraud when they released the Flint councilman’s body to Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home.
It’s unclear why there is an issue with the councilman’s body being at Lawrence E. Moon, but it likely pertains to respect and allowing the body to be at Deontaye’s choosing of a funeral home.
Deontaye’s attorney, Joseph Cannizzo of Lento Law Group, stated that Mays’ body was taken to the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s office. Behind Deontaye’s back, another sibling falsely claimed to have the authority to release the body to Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home.
“Now as Mr. Mays’ only adult son, my client – Eric Deontaye Mays – is the only person under Michigan Law with legal authority to make those decesionas regarding disposition of his father’s remains,” said attorney, Joseph Cannizzo.
Whew, this is a HOT MESS!
Deontaye filed a lawsuit on Monday with the Genesee County 7th Judicial Court. Subsequently, a judge issued a restraining order prohibiting Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home from taking any action regarding Mays’ body.
Attorney Cannizzo stated that the funeral home has rejected “multiple” requests to release Mays’ body to the funeral home chosen by Deontaye, and they have consistently refused.
“They’ve refused, which is in and of itself a violation of Michigan law. And that is also despite the fact that they’ve been provided with executed authorizations compelling them to release it. They’ve refused. So, our client has gone ahead and fled a mortuary science complaint against Mood,” Cannizzo said.
Councilman Mays did not have a will, which is adding to the dispute between Deontaye and the rest of the family. They need to work together with Deontaye instead of bickering over his father’s remains.
No funeral date has been set for Mays due to the ongoing drama with his son and the rest of the money-hungry family. But a final hearing on the issue is Thursday.
