By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Staff Reporter
It has been six weeks since the death of former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith and some local businesses have still not been paid for providing services connected with her death.
Employees at the East Sunrise Mortuary on Rosetta Street have watched and waited patiently for weeks for payment from Smith's estate for providing limousine, escort and decoy services at her funeral, Pedro Ferguson, managing director at the funeral home said yesterday. The widely televised funeral took place on 8th March at the Mount Horeb Baptist Church in Sandyport.
"The funeral home that contracted me was actually responsible for the delay [in payment]," Ferguson said. "I think it was some sort of personal reason [the company was not paid] because, really, I was supposed to be paid by [the court-appointed guardian for Smith's baby , Dannielynn and her estate] Richard Millstein but I was told he was sick and he would be back in office in a couple of days."
Smith's companion, Howard K Stern, took "the initiative" to see that the funeral home was paid the money it was owed, said Ferguson. He added that he received a call just yesterday morning to say that he would receive payment in a couple of days.
However, Halsbury Chambers, a local law firm that represented Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, in the guardianship case of Smith's baby, Dannielynn, has had no such promises as it pertains to payment. The law firm has issued a debtors summons requiring Arthur to pay the legal fees incurred from the several weeks they represented her.
"We represented her to the best of our abilities...we managed to avoid the child being removed from The Bahamas and we haven't received payment for our time and devotion spent on this matter," claimed an Associate Attorney at Halsbury Chambers, Jamal Davis. "We're just exercising our right as any creditor would do to recover our fees [and] it's unfortunate we have to take this route."
A route, Davis explains, that can affect her in certain matters locally and would have some bearing to her suitability within this jurisdiction.
"It does have a lot of ramifications," Davis said. "Essentially our motivation for taking this route is that it allows us to expedite our claim against Ms Arthur."
On the other hand, Ferguson admitted that the funeral home may receive payment of another kind in short order as providing elaborate services like a decoy hearse on the day of the funeral could add to their popularity in other high-profile matters.
"Everything is still [normal] right now," Ferguson said. "I'm sure there would be some ripple effect as a result of [the company providing services for such a highly publicized funeral]."
I heard on Greta last night they are billing Virgie $40,000 for their legal work on her behalf.