A class-action lawsuit against the Return to Nature Funeral Home resulted in a judgment of nearly $1 billion, an attorney representing the victims confirmed Monday. 

The funeral home about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs came under a multiagency investigation in October after reports of a complaint about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found nearly 190 bodies in various states of decomposition that were not properly stored.

Owners Jon and Carie Hallford currently face criminal charges at both the state and federal level, but the class action lawsuit heard in Fremont County is the first high-profile case involving Return to Nature that has seen a conclusion.

The resolution of the class-action lawsuit does not impact either the state or federal criminals cases against the Hallfords. All criminal cases against the Hallfords remain unresolved at the time of writing. 

The default judgment totaled more than $950 million — and with inflation will result in a judgment of over $1 billion — is the largest total in the history of the state of Colorado, attorney for the victims, Andrew Swan, told The Gazette in an interview. 

Swan, whose law firm Leventhal Lewis Kuhn Taylor Swan PC is working pro bono on the class-action lawsuit, cautioned against excitement about the financial total of the judgment because it’s unlikely any of the victims’ families will receive anything close to what their owed. 

The defendant in a judgment in a class-action lawsuit is required to pay the sum ordered by the court, and Swan stated that the Return to Nature business and the Hallfords clearly do not have the money to pay the $7.6 million owed to each of the 125 victims listed in the class-action lawsuit. 

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“Full satisfaction of the judgment will have to come from the Hallfords’ assets,” Swan said. “The unfortunate reality is that they just do not have over $1 billion.”

Swan did not, however, rule out that the victims could have a small portion of the judgment paid out to them in the future. 

“It’s possible,” Swan said when asked. “But because the Hallfords just haven’t participated, nobody has a full understanding of the Hallfords’ financial picture.”

A default judgment is made in a civil case when a defendant refuses to participate in the legal process, or make court appearances. Swan said that at no point through the 10 months have the Hallfords even acknowledged the lawsuit.

“It’s disrespectful,” Swan said plainly of the Hallfords refusal to participate in the class action. 

Although any financial compensation to the victims isn’t guaranteed, Swan said the judgment last Thursday was important because it shows how “horrible” the Hallfords’ actions really were. 

“It’s important recognition of how serious their misconduct was,” Swan said. “We hope that the family members derive some fulfillment from the judgment. Because it’s the result of a district court listening to them carefully, taking seriously what they experienced and then entering a judgment reflecting it.” 

Swan added that he and the attorneys working on the case are hoping to amend the judgment to add all impacted families to the class action. 

Both the state and federal criminal cases against the Hallfords continue on. 

Jon and Carie Hallford face 286 criminal charges at the state level stemming from the discovery in October of 189 bodies improperly stored at the funeral home in Penrose.

Last month, The Gazette reported that a plea deal had been offered to both Jon and Carie Hallford which could see the pair of them spend up to 20 years in prison if accepted. 

Further clarification about the Hallfords’ likelihood of accepting the plea offer will come at their next court date, Sept. 20.

Return to Nature owners have arraignment pushed back

In addition to their state case, the Hallfords face charges at the federal level. In April, the Hallfords appeared in federal court in Denver and pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of wire fraud.

Tim Neff, the attorney prosecuting the Hallfords at the federal level, said that the Hallfords are facing about seven years in prison if convicted on the 15 wire fraud charges. The Hallfords’ attorneys said they believe a sentence on federal charges wouldn’t be as severe as from the state.

At one of the Hallfords’ previous state-level hearings, prosecutor Rachael Powell told the court that the trial in the federal case is set for Oct. 22.

Jon Hallford is being held on a no-bond hold pending the outcome of his federal case, despite being released on a $100,000 bond in his state-level case.

Carie Hallford remains out on a $100,000 bond.

Motion to have Return to Nature owners in joined trial is denied