Greenwood Cemetery in Atlanta files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after state fine over misplaced graves
Greenwood Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Election Day, 3 November, months after a US$50,000 state fine over people allegedly buried in the wrong graves. The cemetery is still open, and its creditors are due to meet on 3 December.
Greenwood Cemetery filed its Chapter 11 petition in federal court on 3 November, WSB-TV reported from the court record. The filing sets a meeting of creditors for 3 December at 4pm. According to WSB Radio, the cemetery is still operating while the case is under way. Neither station named a trustee or outside manager.
The petition places Greenwood in the band of 1 to 49 creditors. The two largest unsecured claims are US$123,618.89 owed to Piedmont Precast and US$50,000 owed to the Georgia Secretary of State's office, the same figure as the state fine. Home Depot, AT&T, the US Postal Service and the City of Atlanta's watershed department are also on the list. WSB-TV put the biggest debts at roughly US$175,618 in total. Sums owed to individuals and religious groups named in the filing were not yet known.
The fine followed claims that up to 20 bodies were placed in the wrong plots, WSB Radio said. WSB-TV has reported that 17 to 20 such burials happened at Greenwood since 2018, and that state investigators began a fresh inquiry after Greenwood allegedly failed to keep to a consent order agreed earlier in 2026. Investigators went back in September over concerns that problems were not being fixed. These are the state's allegations; no court finding has been reported. WSB Radio said the graves there include that of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy.
Neither report says how the case will treat families who own plots or have paid in advance for burials or perpetual care. No reorganisation plan has been reported.
Why it matters: Families who own plots or prepaid for burials or perpetual care at Greenwood have had no word on how the Chapter 11 case treats them. The creditors' meeting on 3 December is the next fixed date.
If this affects you
- The Georgia Secretary of State's Cemeteries Division regulates perpetual care cemeteries, merchandise dealers and preneed sales agents in Georgia. sos.ga.gov
- Bankruptcy cases from Atlanta are heard by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, which gives case and docket access through PACER. ganb.uscourts.gov
Sources
- Historic Atlanta cemetery files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy95.5 WSB, Nov 10
- Historic cemetery files for bankruptcy months after state investigates misplaced bodies reportsWSB-TV, Nov 10