Family members exhumed the grave of a woman at a cemetery accused of unearthing bodies and tossing aside their bones in nearby woods to make room for more burials. Attorney Ted Leopold said Wednesday's exhumation of Vivian Kaminsky's grave could be the first of 60 exhumations over the next several months. "My client wanted peace. She wanted to know that her mom's buried where she should be," said Leopold, whose firm represents more than 60 families who sued Menorah Gardens in April 2002. Another dig is scheduled Thursday morning to inspect the vault of the wife of another plaintiff in the case.

The suit, along with another filed in Broward County, name the chain, its cemeteries in Broward and Palm Beach counties, and Houston-based parent company Service Corporation International, the world's largest funeral services firm.

The families allege the cemeteries misplaced, lost track of and oversold plots, smashed vaults and in some cases dug up remains to make room for new graves.

The company has said any wrongdoing was the work of local managers, and that SCI fired them and began fixing the problems as soon as it learned of them.

In a separate action, Menorah resolved in May a suit by the Florida attorney general by agreeing to pay penalties that could reach $10 million and setting aside millions more for future claims.

On Wednesday, family members confirmed that Kaminsky's remains have not been moved since she was buried in November 1998. But they learned that the cemetery did not bury Kaminsky's sister, Florence Steinhoff, who died in 2000, in the plot next to Kaminsky, which relatives said they requested.

Instead, a still-empty plot between the women was sold to another family, Leopold said.

But SCI spokesman Don Mathis insisted nothing unexpected was discovered Wednesday and that the cemetery had already contacted the family that owns the middle plot and plans to give them another one, so no one will ever be buried between the sisters.

He questioned the expense of the exhumations and emotional distress on family members when, he says, mapping and ground radar the cemetery has conducted makes most of the work unnecessary.

Leopold disagreed.

"This cemetery was supposed to be selling peace of mind. My clients have anything but peace of mind," he said.

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