§ 3450 — Suspension and revocation of licenses

New York § 3450

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBH: Public Health
• Title 4: Enforcement and Discipline; Violations and Penalties
• Art. 34: Funeral Directing

Text

§ 3450. Suspension and revocation of licenses. 1. The commissioner may\nrevoke or suspend any license of a funeral director, undertaker or\nembalmer and, if such licensee shall be the owner of, or a member of a\npartnership owning, a funeral firm or the licensed and registered\nmanager of a funeral firm owned by a corporation, any certificate of\nregistration of such firm, or may reprimand or otherwise discipline such\nlicensee or funeral firm in accordance with the provisions of this\narticle upon proof that such licensee or, in the case of such\ncorporation, that the corporation or one or more of its officers or\ndirectors or one or more of its stockholders or other persons, firms or\ncorporations having a ten per centum or greater proprietary, beneficial,\nequitable or credit interest therein:\n (a) has violated any of the provisions of this article, the sanitary\ncode, the rules and regulations of the commissioner or of any statute,\ncode, rule or regulation relating to the practice of funeral directing,\nembalming, or vital statistics;\n (b) has been convicted of a crime;\n (c) has practiced fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing or\nprocuring a license or admission to practice funeral directing,\nundertaking, or embalming;\n (d) is incompetent to engage in the business or practice of funeral\ndirecting, undertaking, or embalming except that this provision shall\nnot apply to an officer, director or stockholder of, or other person\ninterested in, a corporation owning a funeral firm unless he shall be\nthe licensed and registered manager thereof;\n (e) has practiced fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in his business\nor practice or in the business of such funeral firm;\n (f) has committed acts of misconduct in the conduct of the business or\npractice of funeral directing, undertaking, or embalming or in the\nbusiness of such funeral firm;\n (g) is an habitual drunkard;\n (h) is addicted to the use of morphine, opium, cocaine or other drugs\nhaving a similar effect;\n (i) has practiced or conducted the business of such funeral firm\nwithout biennial registration of his license or of such firm;\n (j) has employed, hired, procured or induced or otherwise aided or\nabetted any person not licensed or registered to practice or hold\nhimself out as licensed, practicing, or entitled to practice as an\nundertaker, or embalmer, or funeral director;\n (k) has wrongfully transferred or surrendered possession, either\ntemporarily or permanently, of his license or certificate of\nregistration thereof or of the certificate of registration of such\nfuneral firm to any other person, partnership or corporation;\n (l) has paid, given, has caused to be paid or given or offered to pay\nor to give to any person a commission or other valuable consideration\nfor the solicitation or procurement, either directly or indirectly, of\nfuneral patronage, or has accepted any consideration (including without\nlimitation a commission, rebate, or discount or direct or indirect price\nreduction on merchandise from the current value thereof) from any\nfinancial institution or trust company, or agent thereof, with whom the\nfuneral director deposits funds paid for funeral services in advance of\nneed pursuant to subdivision one of section four hundred fifty-three of\nthe general business law except that the funeral director may accept,\nfrom the financial institution, trust company or agent thereof, up to\ntwenty-five hundredths of one percent of the fee authorized under\nparagraph (b) of subdivision three of section four hundred fifty-three\nof the general business law for administrative services provided by the\nfuneral director, or has accepted any consideration (including without\nlimitation a commission or gift) from any insurer or agent thereof, to\nsell, offer or promote the sale of any policy of insurance payable,\nexpressly or as marketed, at the death of the insured for funeral or\nburial expenses;\n (m) has been guilty of fraudulent, misleading or deceptive\nadvertising;\n (n) has practiced funeral directing, undertaking or embalming, or has\nconducted business as a funeral firm, under a false name;\n (o) has impersonated another licensee or another funeral firm of a\nlike or different name; or\n (p) has failed to comply with requirements set forth in section four\nhundred fifty-three of the general business law, relating to moneys paid\nin connection with agreements for funeral merchandise in advance of need\nto be kept on deposit pending use or repayment except, that revocation\nand suspension shall apply only in the case where a funeral director or\nfuneral firm has committed repeated violations of these provisions or\nhas committed a violation of the provisions of section four hundred\nfifty-three of the general business law relating to failure to deposit\nor hold moneys on deposit; failure to return such moneys and interest\nthereon upon demand or upon the termination, cessation of operation or\ndiscontinuance of any funeral firm, or a successor in interest; or\nfailure to comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivision\nfive of section four hundred fifty-three of the general business law\nregarding compliance by transferors who receive such moneys.\n 2. The commissioner shall also have power, and after due notice and an\nopportunity to be heard, to revoke or suspend the endorsement of a\nfuneral director, undertaker or embalmer license issued to any person\npursuant to the provisions of this article or any previous law upon\nevidence that the duly constituted authorities of any state or political\nsubdivision of the United States have lawfully revoked or suspended the\nfuneral director, undertaker or embalmer license issued to such person\nby such state or political subdivision.\n 3. The action of the commissioner in revoking or suspending such\nlicense or certificate of registration of such funeral firm shall be\nreviewable by the supreme court of the state of New York pursuant to the\nprovisions of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.\n 4. (a) A person convicted of a felony shall forfeit his license to\npractice as a funeral director, undertaker, or embalmer, and upon\npresentation to the department of a certified copy of a court record\nshowing that he has been convicted of a felony, that fact shall be noted\non the record of license, and the license shall be revoked, and the\nregistration shall be cancelled.\n (b) If such conviction be subsequently reversed on appeal and the\naccused acquitted or discharged, his license shall become again\noperative from the date of such acquittal or discharge.\n (c) The conviction of a felony aforementioned shall include the\nconviction of a felony by any court in this state or by any court of the\nUnited States or by any court of any other state of the United States;\nprovided, however, that if a crime of which the licensee is convicted by\nany court of the United States or by any court of any other state is a\nfelony in the jurisdiction in which the conviction is had but is not a\nfelony in the state of New York, then the conviction shall not be deemed\na conviction of a felony for the purposes of this article. In the event\nthat a crime of which the licensee is convicted by any court of the\nUnited States or by any court of any other state is not a felony in the\njurisdiction in which the conviction is had but is a felony in the state\nof New York, then the conviction shall be deemed a conviction of a\nfelony for the purposes of this article.\n