( CNN ) -- One of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles , California , area has been accused of desecrating the remains of those buried there , according to a lawsuit . The cemetery holds the remains of celebrities such as Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce . The suit , filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court , alleges that employees at Eden Memorial Park , in Mission Hills , California , `` intentionally , willfully and secretly desecrated the remains of deceased individuals , '' often moving them to make room for new remains . Attorney Michael Avenatti , who filed the suit , told CNN that his investigation revealed that as many as 500 graves may have been torn up without the families ' permission . `` We allege that Eden Memorial Park and its management for the better part of 15 years were engaging in improper burial practices , including the desecration of graves and the improper disposal of human remains , '' he said . The lawsuit is filed by F. Charles Sands , whose parents are buried at Eden Memorial Park , against the cemetery and its owner , Service Corporation International , based in Houston , Texas . The company is the largest owner of cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States . Watch what the lawsuit says workers did to remains » . This is not the first time Service Corporation International has faced allegations of digging up graves and moving bodies to make room for new remains . It reached a $ 100 million settlement with families of people whose remains were desecrated at Menorah Gardens in Florida . The company also reached a $ 14 million settlement with the Florida state attorney 's office over issues related to those claims . A number of celebrities are buried at Eden Park , including comedians Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce , according to several Web sites that track burials of celebrities . Anthony Lampe , the general manager of Eden Memorial Park , said he had not seen the lawsuit and referred inquiries to Service Corporation International . Company spokeswoman Lisa Marshall said the allegations in the lawsuit were not valid . She said SCI had investigated and confirmed burial issues at Eden Memorial Park in 2007 , but she could not provide specifics of that investigation . The lawsuit alleges groundskeepers were secretly instructed to break buried concrete interment vaults that contained caskets that were already buried , using backhoes . It also alleges human remains would often fall out of the broken caskets , and those body parts were either scattered or thrown away . In one case , Avenatti said , a human skull was discarded . `` We have uncovered evidence that the groundskeepers and others at Eden Memorial Park have been instructed to break off or break apart that concrete vault and , at many times , that exposes human remains , '' Avenatti said . Asked about the seriousness of the allegations , he said , `` If the allegations are proven true , this is incredibly horrific . '' The lawsuit said that under Jewish tradition , `` the deceased are typically required to be interred within 24 hours , thereby leaving little time to obtain consent to move an encroaching vault in an adjacent plot and giving defendants a motive to desecrate human remains and commit other immoral acts rather than comply with the law . ''
Eden Memorial Park , in Mission Hills , California , is large Jewish cemetery . Lawsuit says it breaks open vaults , discards remains to make room . Comment: SCI spokeswoman says allegations in the lawsuit are not valid .