Even in death, Flint Councilman Eric Mays remains a flashpoint for controversy.
The late councilman’s only son, Eric HaKeem Deontaye Mays, alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday that the Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home in Flint is holding his father’s body “hostage.”
The lawsuit, filed in Genesee County Circuit Court, also accuses Mays’s four siblings of conspiring to seize control of the former councilman’s remains and profit from “their fraudulent scheme” by soliciting donations from the community for funeral services.
“As we allege in this lawsuit, the Moon Funeral Home is disrespecting the life and legacy of the late Councilman Eric B. Mays by holding his body hostage and refusing to turn it over to his son, and by participating in an unlawful conspiracy with estranged, rogue members of the late Councilman’s family to deprive his son his right to lay his father to rest,” Joseph Cannizzo, Jr., an attorney at the Lento Law Group, said in a statement. “Every child deserves to have a say in their parent’s final affairs. Through this legal action, we hope to rectify the legal wrongs we alleged have taken place against Mr. Mays and give him closure during this difficult time while also affording him the opportunity — as is his right — to honor his father’s legacy.”
Mays, a passionate and combative councilman and TikTok sensation, died at his home on Feb. 24 but didn’t leave behind a will, according to the suit, which claims only his son has next-of-kin rights to handle the remains.
The suit alleges that two of Mays’s siblings lied to the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s Office and said that Mays had no children. A third sibling, who is an employee of the funeral home, falsely claimed that he had legal authority to authorize the release of the body, the suit claims.
Now the funeral home is refusing to turn over Mays’s remains to his son, even though Eric Mays provided the company with the required documentation to release the remains to him, according to the suit.
Mays’s son is requesting that a judge cancel the funeral arrangements scheduled for the funeral home this weekend and order the release of his father’s remains to a funeral home that he chooses.
A woman who answered the phone at the funeral home declined to answer questions.
“We have no comment, sir,” she told Metro Times.
Mays was a popular and quarrelsome councilman who often posted his clashes with the council on his TikTok channel, which had more than 220,000 followers. His followers appreciated his unfiltered advocacy for Flint residents.
First elected to the council in 2013, Mays was one of the first public officials to voice concerns about the water crisis that began in 2014. While other state and city officials downplayed the crisis, Mays was an unwavering advocate for residents.
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