Lawsuit challenges funeral home lottery in Curitiba before the Supreme Court.

The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) received, on Tuesday the 9th, a lawsuit against the lottery system used by funeral homes in Curitiba to assign services to citizens. The city has a mandatory rotation system among the companies, so that those who need to bury a loved one receive notification from the city hall which funeral home will be responsible.

The price is free, but there are maximum values ​​that can be charged. The lawsuit was assigned to Minister Ricardo Lewandowski and alleges an affront to business freedom and personality rights. According to the Brazilian Association of Funeral Companies and Directors (Abredif), there is a need to protect the right of families to conduct funeral rites according to their own choices. Read the full text of the initial complaint.

The legal challenge to the fundamental precept (ADPF) 788 also points to restrictions on free competition, consumer freedom of choice, as well as violations of human dignity and religious freedom. The entity asserts that the lottery is a daily occurrence: "it takes place every day, for every death that occurs in the capital of the State of Paraná."

The lottery is stipulated in a 2009 municipal decree that defined that the concessionaires, under the supervision of the city's public authorities, "to guarantee equitable distribution" and prevent the solicitation of clients, will serve users "in a staggered manner," through an electronic system. The legislation also provides for exceptions if the family loses more than one person on a single occasion.

According to Article 4 of Law 10.595/2002, only companies authorized by the Municipal Public Authority may provide funeral services in the Municipality of Curitiba. As per Article 5 of the Municipal Funeral Service Regulations, attached to Municipal Decree 699/2009 (“Regulations”), a rotation system was established, which must be carried out randomly.

In the case of religious freedom, for example, the issue is that since there are different beliefs, there are different forms and funeral ceremonies. Funeral homes sometimes end up associating themselves with one religious denomination or another. In Curitiba, the initial complaint cites the funeral homes Nossa Senhora Aparecida, São Lucas, Bom Jesus de Curitiba, Vaticano, and Santa Paula, all linked to the Catholic Church.

“The random rotation makes it impossible to choose who will perform the contracted public service, making the family member 'hostage' to the company drawn. This results in at least a double disadvantage for the consumer who expresses the need to perform a specific religious ritual,” the association points out.

Firstly, because there is a possibility that the company may not have qualified staff or an adequate ceremony capable of promoting the specific rites and procedures of each religion. Secondly, restricting choice regarding religious orientations is a strictly personal and intimate matter, and not allowing the service provider to choose can lead, for a multitude of reasons, to a farewell ceremony that does not align with the user's religious ideals.

The initial petition states that, since the creation of the model, it has been the subject of debates and questioning. There was a public hearing in 2012 at the City Council, for example, in addition to other lawsuits, which were dismissed—but which, according to the author, were based on other arguments.

In 2016, the Secretariat for Economic Monitoring (SEAE) examined the situation and, in a technical note, concluded that the legislation "generates economic inefficiencies, harming the proper functioning of the market and unnecessarily burdening the consumer." It is, therefore, an excessive and inefficient interference in the economy.

"At most, and as indicated by SEAE, intervention in the analyzed segment should be restricted to guaranteeing conditions for the provision of quality service and respect for sanitary and legal norms. However, this is not what occurs in the specific case – which goes far beyond that," the entity points out.

Abredif states that the adopted model daily clashes with fundamental constitutional issues related to consumer rights, free enterprise, and, above all, religious freedom. "This is because the lottery system does not respect beliefs, subjecting families to chance and hindering the functioning of religious services and religions."

Although consumers can request a new draw, at the time the service is defined, only another randomly selected company can be contracted. But even this request is uncommon, according to the entity. "It's a dramatic moment in human life, where rationality fades and state orders are executed immediately," it emphasizes. ( JOTA.Info – Ana Pompeu)